The Truth Enslaved
by TazoClarity
Summary: Classic Faison story of 1990. "You owed me to tell me about him!" Robert screamed at her back, the betrayal as overwhelming as it always was with Anna. "I couldn't tell you for the same reason I couldn't tell you thirteen years ago. He would have come after you, he would have found you..." Reluctant, but unstoppable tears glittered in her eyes. "And he would have killed you."
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is an old couple but in my opinion, the best General Hospital has to offer. They had absolutely everything that you would want in two characters and I'm so happy that Tristan Rogers is coming back! I've always had this idea for a story… picking up during Sean's betrayal in the Faison storyline. Lots of the dialogue will be similar for a little bit but the characters do not move in the same direction that they did back then! Robertannafan is AMAZING and it is because of all of that time put into that channel that I could even watch any of Robert and Anna in action! If you haven't seen the first Faison story just look it up, it's a masterpiece. Anyway, first chapter is told first in Robert's POV and then Anna's in 1992. But the bulk of the chapter is in Sean's POV and will take us back to 1990 when Faison first appeared in Port Charles. Enjoy!

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"Robert!"

"Scorpio."

Two greetings—one voice loved, the other…far from it. Robert almost marveled at how far this monster had pushed him…to feel something so terrible that it was nearly beyond all control.

Faison sparse lips curved up into that expectant, smooth smile that Robert had come to loathe. His pulse jumped murderously at it. This devil that had plagued their lives for the better part of two years was never unprepared, never missing a trick. Even now, when the wolves were closing in and the vultures to pick at them after their imminent deaths'…there he was, his bearing calm, as if it was all part of the plan.

Robert had never hated a man more.

And then something warmer and more urgent cut into that cold rage—there was Anna…his wife, his partner. Still beautiful even when she was desperate and sleepless and ragged as she looked now. He met eyes with her and he knew—he knew that it was all a lie. Whatever had transpired, Anna had never gone willingly. He saw the love in her eyes, the pained sweetness of it. And that total and complete trust. Could she truly trust him with her life now?

It had never been like this before. He had always considered himself very handy where she was concerned, as he once told her as she lay unconscious in a hospital bed, with raging fever. There had never been a scrape he couldn't pull her out of…anything and all of her problems.

And now, there was one thought prevailing in his mind at the sight of her, as one perfect, pale hand covered her stomach protectively and Faison tried to pull her nearer: Get Anna out alive. No matter the cost.

He had to save _this woman_ —not even for their daughter, but for himself. Otherwise, what had his life meant? It whittled down to seconds.

The agent inside him fought up to the surface as he tamped down the panic of the situation—WSB and DVX closing in—Faison with his hands on her—the warning rumble of the sky.

But he would always be Bob with the Nine Lives. Though he had lost count of how many lives were left a long time ago.

Robert gave his nemesis his own half-smile, a practiced coolness he didn't feel. "Surely, you expected me? You knew your…distractions…made no difference. You were never going to stop me, Faison."

A flick of the wrist, and Faison released Anna just as she became more violent to get out of his grasp, anticipating her volatility. But she stilled mid-stumble between them, her body inarguably tense. Robert longed to bridge the gap and pull her into his arms, but he shuttered the impulse and the three of them were held in stasis. There was no time for it. Faison lit a cigarillo, eyeing Anna with that ever-present fascination.

"Are you going to run off with him now, darling?" Faison mocked her. It was clear to them all—it was too late, futile.

Anna stared at him and didn't give him the satisfaction of a response, she watched him bring his bad habit to his lips and allowed whatever unfriendly, foreign thing it was to pass between them. Robert had no patience for it. He shifted abruptly, drawing his gun and with it, Anna's dark eyes.

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Anna wasn't surprised that Robert held Faison at gunpoint. He knew it was already pointless, but he had to do _something_. Robert with his reckless and stupid plans, his masterful charm, his quick mind, his brutal love and protectiveness. She swallowed convulsively as she looked between them, Robert cold and hard…Faison cruelly amused by him.

There was so much she wanted to tell Robert, but it wasn't the time. Perhaps there would never be time. Her mind simply wouldn't cooperate. It was all rushing to some horrible conclusion and she was helpless to stop it.

"There are men everywhere, Scorpio," Faison said. He was honest—Anna well knew that there were guards crawling all over the tanker, trained on this final exchange with intent to kill if provoked. Faison's eyes gleamed, shreds of sanity falling into nothing, just as Anna had witnessed over these months. "You couldn't leave it alone, could you? You couldn't let me have her." He dropped the cigarillo and Anna could hear it dully hit the deck before Faison ground it under his sole. "And now we three will end here. In fire."

"Not a chance," Robert gritted out and before Anna knew it, she was flying backward, a hand clamped firmly on her arm. It didn't take long for her adrenaline to kick in, those senses well-honed from even her youth to be ready for anything. She righted herself and ran just behind Robert to an escape that he had prepared, but one that would likely do no use.

"Robert!"

"The WSB was right on my tail!" Robert shouted, his voice deafening in her right ear. She cast a glance to the side and saw that he was correct—in the distance, there they were, like ants sitting on the water. Lethal ants. There was so much more noise now, but she didn't know from where. No one on deck was shooting. Faison must have called them off. "We've gotta get outta here!"

There was her heart pounding, there was her breath heaving in rhythm with her husband. There was the small emergency boat he had dropped, his hands rough on her waist as he propelled her ahead of him. The sky trembled.

And she thought of him, and of the best piece of them both—Robin, her beautiful girl. The extraordinary woman she would become. Oh God, please let her see it. Robin, 5 years old, unkempt hair flying back and her childish weight in Anna's arms. That breathless and complete love in the face of absolutely anything.

 _I'm so sorry, my darling girl._

Robin's father, Robert, the man beside her, the man who had always risked everything to save her, even those most precious parts of himself.

 _I love you!_ She screamed it, but she was sure it got lost in the rushing wind. Robert's impossibly blue eyes, his mouth forming lost words too. He clasped her to himself and never, never let go.

Then there was everything. And then there was nothing.

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TWO YEARS BEFORE

Sean could hear them outside his hospital room—Monica Quartermaine defending herself against Robert and Anna's interrogation… defending herself quite well actually.

"Look," Robert's voice echoed through the door. "I don't mean to jump down your throat here, but the point is—"

"Obviously," Monica interrupted shrewdly, "there is something going on with the three of you. And I'm not asking any questions, I just hope it's resolved."

"We're going to do that now," Anna said.

"Well, good. And don't tire him out, he's very weak."

Monica's steps faded down the hall as Sean's two best friends filed through the door. His vision filled with Robert's chiseled face and Anna's flashing eyes. Some things had never changed throughout the years…

"Welcome," Sean said simply as they came to his side, unsmiling. This was the moment of reckoning.

"Good to hear you've got your voice back," Robert said in greeting, his normal no-nonsense tone sharper than ever.

"Ah, heard yours loud and clear in the hall," Sean said. He was already tired, but he knew that there would be no rest now…that he would have to carry this confrontation through to the end. His right hand clenched harder against what was within it as these two people—the two best friends of his life, converged on his bedside. A cynical, ironic part of him noted that they both wore black today…without knowing how much they had to mourn.

"Alright, what little game are we up to now?" Robert said.

Sean sighed and buckled down on his resolve. "No more games, my friends. No more games." He lifted the pouch from his side and dropped it into his lap, the coins spilling out from within.

"The thirty pieces," Anna said.

"Right."

Robert could hide a brief look of disgust, the symbol from their shared past clearly riling him further. This wasn't going to be easy. "What's all this?"

"You know what it is," Sean answered. "The WSB symbol of betrayal."

"That was all over in Bay-C!" Robert exclaimed, recalling their emotionally-fraught meeting five years ago when everything was laid on the line.

"No…"

"Yes it was." Anna said, and Sean recognized the trepidation in her voice. Whatever was coming, she was bracing for it carefully, her mind moving a few steps ahead like he had seen her do many times before. He felt an odd thrill of pride for her in that moment, and affirmation…he had fought so hard to get her back and sometimes she unwittingly reminded him why. "We each took responsibility for what we'd done."

"Right. It's time we set the record straight, though." Sean fingered the coins delicately, lifting them up so they shined, cold and cruel. "Because this time, all the pieces…belong to me."

They both stared from the silver to Sean, wariness creeping into their expressions and simmering plain on the surface.

They shifted positions, Robert to the forefront and Anna slipping behind him, a support to his confrontation. It would have looked planned, but Sean knew better. They had always been seamless, playing their parts without having to say a word to each other. Sean felt the heat beneath Robert's stare. "I assume this refers to your current relationship with Faison."

"Partially," Sean responded, feeling a twinge of pain that had nothing to do with their discussion. He wasn't as young as he used to be.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a deal going with him?" Anna asked.

"This isn't just about the Wellington Collection." That expensive set of pieces that Faison and Sean had competed over—the set that had brought the past in like a vicious storm and tossed Anna, Robin and Robert (by consequence) right into Faison's path.

"But you _knew_ the last part of the crystal was in that dog!" Robert was falling into commissioner-mode, and it was going to be all the more difficult for Sean to get Robert to hear him out without both of them wanting to put their heads through the wall. Anna glanced at Robert, recognizing that unforgiving note in his voice, but she didn't get between them. Sean felt breathless.

"No. No, I didn't. All I knew—"

"Why him?!" Robert demanded.

"I just knew…that Faison wanted it…"

Sean tried to counteract Robert's rising temper, but Robert only got louder. "Why him—why him, why would you make an…an _ally_ of yourself with HIM of all people?!"

This time, Anna got in the middle, likely realizing that Robert was losing control and wouldn't stop unless they set them back on track. "You _knew_ what he had on me and because of what you were doing, you risked my daughter's life, Sean!"

At the mention of Robin, Sean's guilt doubled. "I didn't think it would get this far," was his only defense. Neither of them knew that this whole thing had been thirteen years in the works. He couldn't have anticipated their having a child. He couldn't have anticipated any of it, as smart as he thought he was. "And Robin is my godchild. I love her very much!"

"Obviously not enough to walk away from whatever Faison had to offer," Anna said plainly. Her maternal instinct was flaring, and when turned on him, Sean found it difficult to combat.

"That's not true," he protested. "I was trying to protect all of you."

"By working with him," Robert stated sarcastically.

This wasn't going well at all and he could see their tentative benefit of the doubt, born of a long and war-torn friendship, fleeing by the moment.

"I didn't have a choice…"

"Oh…I thought I was the only one that compromised myself around here, I didn't expect it from you," Anna shook her head, moving back in on Sean's bedside, right alongside Robert.

"I wanted you to know the truth."

"So why not just tell us?"

"I was hoping that I could pull it off myself."

"But you saw what it was doing to us, Sean, and you just stood by and let it happen!" Anna cried, a hand to her chest. It broke Sean all the more, knowing that what was coming next would likely make looking her in the eye unbearable.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry that you…you had to go through what you had to…went through. Don't you realize …what Robert and you mean to me? You're my friends."

"Friends trust each other," Robert said, turning away from the bed.

"Sometimes too much," Sean returned quietly.

"Aw, come—let's get to the point, here, alright?! These three people have gone through enough secrets together in the past!" He gestured between them all, honest to the core. Lies and secrecy had threatened to drown them before, but here they still stood. That had to count for something.

"And it's about time you knew the truth about my secrets," Sean said, shaking his head. "There are things that I…" Sean swallowed hard. "That I didn't tell you in Bay-C."

Anna was looking intently at Sean, very still in contrast to Robert's agitated fidgeting. "What do you mean?"

"When you two came to me and admitted that you were the double agent and not Swede…I acted surprised, didn't I? But I wasn't."

Robert shifted behind Anna. "What are you saying?"

"What do you think I'm saying?"

"You knew all along I was the double agent?" Anna said, her voice just above a whisper.

"Yes." Anna turned away to absorb that, looking shell-shocked. Sean didn't wait for her to recover. "There's more. I also knew that you and Robert were married."

After that revelation, there was a silence so absolute you could have heard a pin drop. Sean waited it out.

"What?" Robert breathed after a moment.

Sean's gaze didn't waver on his former agent's. "It couldn't stay that way." He shook his head minutely. "It was against the rules. So I needed a plan…that's where Faison came into the picture."

"How?" Anna said.

"You both think that my…my alliance with Faison started here in Port Charles… you're wrong. I made an alliance with him thirteen years ago. That's when I didn't tell you all the truth."

Robert looked back at Anna, bearing more of his weight on the bed like he was keeping his knees from buckling under the confession. Sean felt the shift in pressure. And Anna came to stand in front of her old boss, trying to remain composed, to take over for the both of them.

"Okay, Sean. So you knew that we were married."

"Yeah, agent I was running in Italy at the time—"

"You knew the rules!" Robert burst out, unable to stop himself. "You knew that agents didn't marry. Why didn't you say something?!"

"Yeah, I knew the rules. I didn't care. You were my best two agents and I needed you. But before I say anything else, you have to remember that we were different back then. Especially me. I didn't understand…what a commitment, a real commitment…meant to a woman… How you could _love_ one woman!" He blinked away tears at Anna's dawning comprehension, the beginnings of heartbreak on her face. "AllI loved was the WSB!"

"What does this have to do with us?" Robert demanded impatiently.

"I broke up your marriage," Sean choked out.

Anna leaned into him, desperate. "No you didn't. No, you didn't! It was when he found out I was a double agent. It wasn't you!"

Sean shook his head at her words, reading the fear in her words, that was he was saying was true…that he would have been able to _do_ this to them. "No," he said. "I set Robert up. I set him up to find out." The tears were now escaping down his cheeks. "I set you both up."

Anna drew back, her hand over her stomach as Robert pressed in behind her. "What?" he growled as she gasped the same thing.

"I needed you," Sean repeated firmly. "You were my best agents. I couldn't afford to lose you."

"What happened?" Robert said darkly. Sean had gotten his full attention now.

"I found out that Anna…was playing both sides of the fence. Working for me and Faison."

"Wait a minute," Robert said, trying to come to grips with the level of betrayal he was hearing. "Now you sent me out…to find a double agent. A double agent. And you knew all along…that it was Anna?"

"Right."

"You knew that would destroy us, didn't you?" Anna said dully.

"Yes," Sean muttered. "I didn't care! I wanted you _back_."

He looked only at Anna when he said that, trying to make her see how important she was to him, how valuable. All those years ago, he was a man that had bargained with the devil to get her back. And he had stripped her of everything that she loved to do it.

The tear tracks burned on his face as he saw them standing next to each other, staring at him in disbelief. "I needed you both together. So I was willing to do just about anything to accomplish that. That's where…Faison…and I, we made a deal."

"You made a deal with him, for me?"

"Yeah. In exchange for you…I arranged for his faked death certificate. And there's something else too…I agreed to get him a file. The same file he used…for his research on the Lumina crystal."

"The missing Air Force file," Robert supplied, all the pieces falling together.

"Yup."

"Oh god," Anna muttered pensively, a hand on her face. "Sean…I thought I knew you."

"The Swede…" Robert insisted, as everything connected. He looked nauseous as he recalled his deepest shame. "The Swede. I accused him of being a double agent to save Anna."

"You knew that we were lying," Anna put in, and supportive hand on Robert's arm. "You let an innocent man die…because of us?"

"He didn't die."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "He's alive somewhere?"

"Yeah…I got him a new identity."

"All these years!" Robert exploded. "All these years you let us think… How—how could you do that?! _How. Could. You. Do. That_?!"

Sean closed his eyes briefly against the pain and the fury in Robert's eyes. Anna was still gripping Robert's arm.

The darkest thing that had ever been between them was the death of a man that never occured… For thirteen years, they had lived with that, a stain on their consciences. Robert, that he had taken innocent life. Anna, that it had been done in her name.

"I told you… in those days, I didn't know what true or romantic love really was. I…I didn't know…that real love could _change_ a person." He struggled to formulate the proper words, remembering how he had been so long ago. "I…I didn't realize that you two… were _really_ meant to be together."

Robert dropped his eyes now and it was clear to Sean that the wall that Robert had _always_ built up when the conversation went here was fighting to erect itself. But Anna was right there, up against him, locked completely on Sean and drowning in guilt. He saw Robert take a deep breath at her insistent presence, remaining solid and unmoving, as if any shift at all would cause him to crumble.

"But you didn't give us that chance," Anna said despairingly, oblivious to her ex-husband's own torment. "Sean, you let me think that it was my fault, all these years, that I destroyed our marriage! You let me think that! All these _years_!"

Sean's eyes were still burning. "I…I couldn't lose you both…I couldn't…"

"Eight years…" Robert muttered, looking sick as something else occurred to him. "Eight years, I had a daughter…and I didn't even know about it. Eight years."

"I not only destroyed your marriage, but I destroyed your family," Sean pronounced. "I don't know…what I can ever do to make that up to you…"

Robert let in a breath, his features hard. "Neither do I!" Anna looked a little taken aback as Robert turned away again and walked away from both of them. "As far as I'm concerned, there's _nothing_ you can do!" he snarled. He leaned his head against the dresser by the door, his hands up in surrender. Anna looked from him to Robert, still reeling. And they stood there in silence for a long moment, until Sean was unable to bear it any longer.

"Let me ask you something…both of you," Sean said, eyes darting between them. His two best friends, his two best agents.

"If you were in my place, what would you have done?"

Robert didn't answer that. He didn't have to. And Anna…Anna paused, before shifting away and to the foot of the bed, shaking her head. "I can't answer that," she finally said softly, a sardonic smile on her face.

They couldn't look at each other. And Sean couldn't look at them either.

"You probably both would have stayed together," Sean muttered, his eyes fixed on the hospital bedspread. "You lost thirteen years because of me." He couldn't stop now—he had to lay out what he _did_ to them—the whole horror of it, the unburdening of his darkest secret, what he had done to his friends who had been guilty of nothing but loving each other.

"You know, you two…really had something special. Something that only comes along once…in a _lifetime_." There was devastation plain on Anna's face, shining eyes, pain like new all around her trembling lips. Sean watched Robert chance a look at his first love and then turn away, unable to bear her naked expression and unable to bear the truth.

And Sean fed off of it—he was getting through to them, making them see what he had done and what he had taken. He wanted to be free of it, finally.

"I took it away from you, didn't I?" he prompted.

And yes, they were realizing it. He could hear it in Robert's hoarse and pained "I don't know, I guess it worked out…" In his wince after he said the words… Because even if he couldn't see it, Sean knew that Robert didn't even believe himself.

"No. Because of me…it really didn't, did it? Everything went haywire."

It was Anna's turn for reassurance, but her choked reply left Sean feeling raw and unworthy of any forgiveness.

"Who knows…maybe the—" Her voice broke, and she stopped herself and ended in muted whisper that circled the drain. "Maybe the marriage wouldn't have worked out anyway…"

"I don't know, there's a pretty good chance it would have worked…" Sean was feeling tired and out-of-focus now, but he persisted. The words were coming to him easily, his conviction landing powerful blows. He had thought about this for thirteen years, it had haunted him for not much less. "But you know, it's funny…everything that's happened with the three of us…all these years…but with the two of you it…it _stayed_ , it stayed on there. No matter what went on…there is _nothing_ that could break you two apart. Nothing. And if it wasn't for my…obsessive….attention…to duty, you two would have spent your lives together."

Oh, Robert and Anna were looking at each other now, Sean thought, a perverse kind of victory. But they were quieter than he had ever seen them. They only watched each other, like they had forgotten what the other looked like and the world had changed around them. And perhaps it really had.

Only a person who knew Robert could see that terrified glimmer in his eyes. Sean was sure that Anna could see it too, but she wouldn't dare call it for what it was. And it was Anna who tore her gaze away from Robert, moving away once more to the foot of the bed, collapsing inward and covering her face. Robert didn't move…and stared at nothing.

And they all remained like that, companionably broken, until Monica swept in with a large bouquet of flowers. "Sean, uh, these flowers came for you from the writer, P.K. Sinclair." The doctor, her back to the visitors, completely missed the look that passed between Robert and Anna at the name. The thing that was there between them during Sean's confession now dissipated in favor of a mutual danger, their spy training kicking in. As Monica briefly adjusted some of his tubes, Sean shook his head. "What are you doing now, playing candy-striper?"

"No, I'm not, I'm playing concerned doctor." Monica leveled a look at the other two, the real reason for her entrance clear. "He really needs to get his rest."

They both hurried to assure her that they were leaving momentarily, and the moment she was out the door, Sean handed off the message card from the bouquet. "Read it."

"With every confidence there will be no unforeseen obstacles on your path to recovery, from one who's been to death's door and beyond," Robert recited.

"It means it's not over," Anna said grimly. "We gotta get something on this man."

"Oh, we will," Robert swore back. They were directing their words only to each other, and Sean sensed the tension falling down back around them all like a curtain. But Sean was nothing if not a survivor…and he wasn't about to go down without a fight, exhausted as he was.

"If it means anything to either one of you, as soon as I'm up and around, I'll do anything I can to help you get rid of—"

"Let's go." Robert cut across his words, ignoring him completely. Anna went for her purse, in a similar mind. Sean almost had to smile at the fluidity with which they moved together. And he thought, not for the first time, how magnificent they would have been as an agent team if they just hadn't fallen in love, if they just hadn't gotten married and flouted the rules. He should have known better from the beginning, and yet, he couldn't have done anything else.

He watched their backs as they began to retreat from him. And he realized that he had never really said the simplest words. "I'm sorry," he said. He _meant_ it. They had no idea how much… But Anna couldn't bring herself to offer anything back. And Robert, cold as ice, didn't even look back once.

And when the door closed on their figures, Sean was left all alone. With the dark… and with thirty pieces of silver.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I will try not to jump around too much. Again, the beginning of this story will largely follow the story as it appeared on GH, so a lot of the dialogue will be similar or exact. Like Anna and Robin's/ Robert and Katherine's exchanges here. Except, I'm including a lot more of what could have gone on in Anna's head at the time. And the story will take a life of it's own eventually, especially with how the triangle went down. And again, check out Robertannafan if you want to see the Faison story from 1990! It's all there!

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Robert woke up disoriented. Being a heavy sleeper had its downsides sometimes… and when Robert had vivid dreams, he often woke up with no concept of where he was. And the topper was: usually, he could remember nothing about what he dreamt either.

He had dreamed, he knew that. And whatever it was, he still felt locked in its fringes somehow. Reality was slow-coming as he gathered his surroundings. Wherever he had been, it was not here, and he felt a twinge of sadness as he came out of it. A good dream then…

"Good morning!" Katherine called as she entered the bedroom, jarring him as he rubbed his face.

"Hey, sweetheart," he muttered tiredly.

His girlfriend clucked in sympathy and laid down a tray. "How ya feeling?"

"A little… groggy," he responded, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah? Well have some coffee."

Robert reached for orange juice instead. "I'm gonna try this. I don't seem to be quite able to wake up."

Kate shifted in beside him as he swallowed. "Must have been what you were dreaming about."

For some reason, the juice went down hard. Well, she couldn't have read his mind… "What?"

Kate cast a glance at him that he couldn't quite interpret, her long blonde hair falling over one shoulder. "You were tossing and turning all night last night."

"Oh! I'm sorry…did I, uh…keep you up?" As much as he couldn't help it, he would feel a bit inconsiderate if he gave her trouble sleeping.

"A little bit…" she sighed and Robert grunted what he was sure she would take as an apology. But then she pulled the glass from his hand and even in his stupor, he could sense that she was building up to something as she leaned in. "So, I didn't realize that _spies_ talked in their sleep!"

"Uhhhh…only to—only to cute blondes," Robert grinned, because even half-awake, he reverted to charm. However, his game must have been off because Katherine wasn't looking very susceptible, and he _really_ sobered up when she pinned him with a look.

"How about brunettes?"

The smile melted off of his face. "What?"

Katherine's own smile was not sincere, he knew her too well. "I'm joking, I'm joking… You just—you mentioned Anna's name a few times last night, that's all…"

"Oh!" he looked down and ignored the fact that his heart skipped a beat at his ex-wife's name, because he didn't really understand why. "Well, um…maybe that's because," Kate wasn't letting up with that unimpressed face, "…uh, you know I've been a little preoccupied with…business over there." He accentuated his vague response by waving bacon in her direction. "You know?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah, I know."

God help him, he was trying not to seem curious. But he was a seasoned investigator and his girlfriend was looking at him all funny and he obviously had said more than Anna's name. No, it was worse than that, he concluded. "What else did I say?"

Katherine rubbed her face now and pretended to think about it. "Well, let's see…uh… you said uh, you mentioned a place called 'San Remo'?"

San Remo. Visions of a beach in Italy came unbidden to his mind. The jolt of cold surf, the taste of salt and the pale beauty moving underneath his hands as they celebrated their survival. Visions of white lace and dark eyes that drowned him as he covered her hair with a veil. Pledging wedding vows in Italian and the first kiss that burned him alive.

"Did I…" Robert muttered.

He dimly heard Kate say, "…Italian Riviera right near the French border?"

He nodded, lost in thought. "Right…"

"Well…soooo, did you and Anna have a mission there with the WSB or what?!"

A mission. Robert sat up, doing his damnedest to play it off but unable to curb the distinct desire to flee the conversation. "Well…we had a lot of missions…and stuff." He pulled the covers off of his legs and planted his feet on the ground, abandoning his bacon. "Right now, my prime mission is to have a shower."

"Pretty good block," his girlfriend commented frankly, trying to lure Robert back in so he would tell her what was wrong. He was aware that she knew something was off. She likely knew that before she even brought it up to him. She had heard him in his sleep. And he might have said more, he didn't even know. _God almighty_. "What about your breakfast?" she persisted.

"Ahhh, running late…it's gonna have to wait," Robert said as he snatched his robe from nearby, his flight instinct in full gear. He cleared his throat as he made for the bathroom. "Yeah…it'll…have to wait."

He couldn't even bring himself to wish he had covered better, for it had all come flooding back to him. Not just the nocturnally insistent memories of his first marriage…

Sean. Faison.

What they had done to his life thirteen years ago. _Sean_ , his best friend, tears rolling down his cheeks. And Anna's face. Anna.

Oh, Anna…

Robert flicked the faucet on and cold water pelted him mercilessly. But when he closed his eyes, he could see her dark, wet eyes and her open, broken heart looking out at him from them…as Sean re-cast them as hapless fools within their own romance and went on about what might have been.

And now the piper had to be paid and they were all three on the line. Faison couldn't have made himself clearer with the visits to Anna and Robin and the flowers to Sean's hospital room. Robert couldn't think of another enemy, past or present, who had gotten in like this and taken apart his life.

He knew what he should be doing right now, what his training would have him do: disconnect; become cold and logical. Hell, it was the lesson he truly learned when Anna lay in a bed with a bandaged face, as Robert gave up the Swede to what he thought was a sure execution. That was the last time he let his heart make any decisions for him…for a long, long, time. Or in the name of a woman he loved.

Sean and Anna had taught him that lesson. And now, because of them, he was losing it all over again. There was so much at stake and he couldn't get a handle on himself because he was getting hit in the head with 13-year old history!

Well, he wouldn't be a victim to this. He was going to put an end to this threat to everyone, including his daughter, if it was the last thing he ever did.

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Anna's night had not been peaceful, not by a long shot… after three cups of decaffeinated tea and 38 pages of a novel, she had lain awake in bed, unable to stop thinking about Sean's confession. And every time the whole thing played out in her head, her feelings transmuted into something else and ran wild until she felt like she was going insane. She catalogued every word and every glance until there was nothing to think anymore and she dropped off into a restless sleep.

Her dear daughter was _not_ helping her peace of mind this morning, as every other word out of her mouth seemed to be "Daddy".

"So Mom, how come Daddy didn't stay over last night?"

Anna groaned, but only inside her head. "Because we have an undercover cop, that's why."

"But I like when Daddy stays around, though." Robin persisted.

"Well, don't get used to it, it was just one time, alright?" She took a sip of her coffee, willing Robin to shut up about her father and put the whole thing to rest.

"I know, I just said it was nice, that's all…" Robin scrutinized her mother, and Anna hid again behind her cup, feeling somehow exposed. She knew she was acting strange, and if she didn't want Robin to get suspicious, she needed to cut it out.

"So…did they catch that lady yet?"

"No."

"You know, I was thinking—maybe we could stay with Daddy?"

For the love of God! Anna was disbelieving as she said "No!" with a little too much force. It was one thing to keep Robert off of her mind on a _normal_ morning… but with Robin making all of these Robert-related comments on _this_ morning, it was damn near impossible and her frustration with the whole situation was coming to a head.

"Just until they catch that lady, Mom."

"We can't keep bothering your father, alright?!" Anna leaned into the words subconsciously, praying that her words would reach whatever part of her daughter's brain that was bound and determined to send her to the asylum.

Robin finally looked chastened by her mother's overreaction and backed down. "…alright." And then she lifted up a scrap of something. "He forgot his tie. Can we take it over to him?"

This was getting downright absurd. "No!" Feeling ridiculous, she set her cup down and tried to handle this rationally. Explain it to the child, she told herself. "We can't go over there because Kate's there."

Robin looked at Anna like she had spouted horns. "So? She won't mind!"

"Your father has his life. We have our life. Now just _leave it alone_ , alright?! Leave it alone!"

She had lost her temper, but really, she didn't want to think about Robert anymore. She was tired, she was confused and Sean was still in the hospital while Desiree was still running around free after holding her daughter at gunpoint and shooting two dear friends. If there were any time in her life to explode, this would be it!

But as Robin blinked at her in surprise, Anna immediately regretted it. Robin didn't understand why she was so on edge, and how could she? Anna didn't _want_ any of this touching Robin, it was better that her daughter have no idea of what was going on…

Robin would never have a normal life. The plainclothesman a few feet away was testament to that. But it didn't mean that Anna wouldn't do her best to keep her life as normal as possible. These outbursts were going to have to stop. As she resolutely tried to tamp down on her emotions, Robin said something that she didn't fully catch and then "…I wanna see Uncle Sean."

Swallowing, Anna nodded. "Okay, then um…come by after school."

"Oh, thank you." Then she lifted up the damn tie again. "So…what about Dad's tie?"

Anna glanced at a passing waitress and rejected her offer to fill her cup. "I'll…see that he gets it."

The guilty look on her daughter's face was one she recognized and it filled her with guilt of her own. "You know, Mom, I wouldn't have said that, you know, we should bring it over to him, but this is his favorite tie. And all of his other ones are dorky!"

Anna felt a genuine laugh spring out of her and she felt even worse. She gave Robin a sheepish smile and then grimaced self-consciously. "Ugh…I'm sorry I snapped at you, I don't mean it."

"I understand."

"It's just that—"

Robin waved her toast dismissively. "He's with Kate, I understand."

"They don't spend enough time together, okay?"

"Yeah…you're right."

"And we can't just keep pulling him away from his life all the time." Anna tried to nail the point home, to tell both Robin and herself that this was how it had to be. Robert was _separate_. He had to be. He was involved…but as Robin's father and nothing else. That was how it had to be.

"But he can stay over sometimes, can't he?" Robin pleaded eagerly.

"Well…yes, he could, but why would he want to?" Anna said, truly not understanding what had brought on this line of thinking. But Robin's answer was simple.

"Well, because we're a family!"

It gave Anna pause, and she looked at her daughter, really looked at her for the first time that morning. She had been so locked up in her own troubles, that she hadn't noticed Robin's perspective on their life. She took a deep breath and then said gently, "We're not a family. I mean…we _are_ a family…but…" she buried her face in her hands briefly, wondering herself where she was going with this. "You know that because he doesn't live with us doesn't mean that he doesn't love you… You understand that, right?"

Robin stared blankly at Anna, like she was asking a very obvious question. Obviously, the divorced parents schtick was too little, too late. Then she frowned. "Yeah, I know. He loves both of us!"

That was _not_ what she wanted to hear. "Well, no. He loves _you_. Me…well…" she looked off to the side.

Robin was still frowning at her, looking genuinely troubled. "Yeah…"

"I was married to him once, and now… you know…" Anna trailed off at Robin's expression.

"And now you're divorced. I have a friend and her parents are divorced. They don't even _talk_ to each other!"

Her sweet daughter had no idea how perilously close she had come to never even knowing her father. Recalling even 1985, when Robert was still angry with Anna, not knowing why she had betrayed him nor the fact that when they had divorced, their little baby girl was growing inside her.

What was new was the fact that Sean was partially responsible for it. She still didn't know how she felt about all of that...

Anna managed a grim smile. "Guess we're lucky, then… At least we _like_ each other." She glanced quickly at Robin and amended, "We're friends—but that's…all…"

"I know. I get it," Robin said hurriedly. But Anna recognized her daughter's bafflement with the whole conversation. And why should Anna blame her?

Anna had had all night to think about it—to go over and review what Robert had been to her and what she had been to him. And what they _weren't._ Of course, Robin didn't understand the lines being drawn in the sand today. Anna was very sensitive about Robert right now; she could acknowledge that. Who could blame her after last night? But she had never taken stock of Robin's view of her relationship with Robert. Maybe she had done a disservice to them all.

 _He loves both of us!_

Anna couldn't really deny that. Robert did love her. She loved Robert.

And Robin could see that. Robin _had_ seen that, for years and years.

Maybe she and Robert should have distanced themselves from each other a little more throughout that time…maybe that had been a mistake. But ever since Robert returned to town after Holly's death, he had been a staple of their lives. Not just Robin's life either. It didn't matter that it threaded throughout her marriage to Duke and his relationships with Cheryl and Katherine.

She and Robert occasionally reminisced over the past, and she could admit to feeling a twinge when they talked about their long-lost love. And when they met eyes, she could see that he felt that too. It was gratifying, in a way…that they both had complete confidence in how much they had once loved each other, and that Robin was conceived of that love. And because of that, they built an incredible friendship that was more than anything she had ever built with another person in her life.

She knew that she had Robert's complete trust and that he had hers. Even when Casey was here, she had only kept the truth from him because she wanted to protect him and _still_ , Robert came after her, ready to be the rock that he always was…

Robert never let her down, never wavered, never made her feel less than of the utmost importance to him, perhaps even at the expense of his girlfriends and her husband.

But this was the first time that she had ever considered the possibility that there was something _wrong_ with that, and not just for the sake of Robert's oftentimes annoying overprotectiveness (her mind flitted briefly to his behavior after he found her when she was kidnapped by Grant Putnam…and flitted just as quickly away from it). She refocused on her daughter.

"It's just that…when you're talking about us being _family…_ " Anna sighed, jittery as she said it aloud.

"Mom," Robin said. "I was talking like…Kate and Duke are family!"

"Oh," Anna said, mentally shaking her head at herself. She needed to calm down, for God's sakes! "You really are…very mature, aren't you?"

Robin grinned. "Come on, Mom, I'm twelve! I know about these things."

Anna laughed, a real smile blooming on her face. "Oh!" She sat back in her chair, feeling a little better. "You're a nice child. I do love you. Oh, you're a nice…young woman," she corrected as Robin smiled widely back at her. "Give me a hug!"

Robin leaned over and did just that. Maybe it wasn't a perfect arrangement, but Anna did get the feeling that Robin had a better understanding of the situation than she herself did. And perhaps that was a good thing.

If she could just act like it never happened, she and Robert could resume like normal and there would be no ifs, ands, or buts about it. That's how she would handle it.

She thought back to last night as Robin shouldered her backpack and got ready to go off to school. Robert had certainly looked like a man trying to put it all behind him when they had come out of Sean's hospital room and Katherine nearly walked right into them.

They had had one moment outside of Sean's room before Katherine appeared, when Anna had collapsed against the wall and instinctively reach out behind her for Robert, knowing that he would be there…and he was. And then he rambled on in astonishment as they walked until Kate called out his name.

It was a strange series of events and Anna could barely get her feet out from under her. Robert had been bothered by it, which was obvious to her, who knew him so well. But he had rallied with Kate's insertion into the situation, and had nearly been cruel in his haste to get away and reaffirm his love for his fiancé right in front of her. But Anna knew he was running, just the way she so dearly wished she could have run…

"Am I interrupting something?" Kate had asked, and if Anna had had the breath, she would have screamed "yes!" before Robert insisted that Kate had interrupted nothing.

In that moment, it hadn't mattered that Robert had been at Anna's beck-and-call for months, or that he had even been a constant and sometimes-unwanted presence when it came to his zeal over hers and Robin's protection, or that Kate had been completely sidelined in the process.

No, it hadn't mattered in that moment because Sean had cut them both wide open…and had left them to bleed all over the floor.

Neither of them were the type to run from their problems. But this felt somehow different. And they shared in that as Anna watched her ex-husband pull his fiancée into an embrace, and Robert looked over Kate's shoulder, watching Anna watching him. And he never stopped looking at her until the elevator doors closed and she felt that crippling finality.

What if…

What if…


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Back again! Thanks to **ReetSLP** and **chzwit** for the reviews! Again, lots of scenes we might already remember so that I can structure what is going on in the characters' heads! There was such amazing writing back then... Please enjoy!

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When Robert arrived at Sean's room, the bed was empty and Anna was already there, her head thrown back restlessly. But she tilted her neck when she heard the door, and laughed a little awkwardly when Robert slipped through. "Oh, hi…"

"Hi," Robert returned, his voice a bit high. He realized quickly that he was unable to look directly at her without thinking about things that he'd rather not think about. Anna looked beautiful today. Anna always looked beautiful. A rush of guilt hit him when he considered his girlfriend, the one who made him breakfast this morning. The one who had heard him talking in his sleep…

He realized he had to get a grip on this _now_.

"Sean's just gone for some tests, he'll be back in a bit."

"How is he?" It seemed like a safe question. Seeing clearly that Anna felt as awkward as he did was making this worse, rather than better.

"Fine, yeah, good…he's, uh, walking…" Anna's voice was pitched and unlike herself as well.

"Good…" He had no idea what his ex might have been thinking because he had yet to really, really look at her. This was ridiculous. He decided that he had to tough it out and hope time would put everything to right and finally met her eyes. There, it wasn't so hard…

"I heard he's been pinching all the female nurses," Anna said with a falsely bright smile that Robert returned in kind, though given the circumstances, the last thing he wanted to do was joke with Anna about Sean right now.

"Positive sign." She kept smiling, and she was still stunningly beautiful, so Robert turned his attention to Sean's chart and flipped idly through it. How the hell were they going to get back to normal? He cursed Sean again in his head.

"How was your evening?" she asked, and there was a pause before her question registered with him.

"What?"

"Last night, you know, with Kate…"

"Oh! It was nice. Nice."

"Good."

"Yeah."

"You two need to spend time together."

He had to admit that Anna talking about her desire to see him and Katherine get their relationship back on track, even if it was sincere, niggled him a bit. Didn't she think he wanted that too? And it wasn't _going_ to get back on track if he didn't stop thinking about Italy. And he couldn't stop thinking about Italy when the memory of last night was still fresh in his mind, and Sean, and Faison…and Anna. He flipped the next page hard, his response flat. "Yeah."

Even without seeing her, he could sense her casting out for other subjects to talk about, probably thinking that if they kept talking that maybe last night would go away. "Um, you—you didn't have to come here today, you know, I think that I can handle this myself."

He looked up again, feeling stupid and wondering if she was implying what he thought that she was. "What?"

"With Sean, I was gonna, you know…get some answers from him about Faison and I—"

"Hey look," Robert said gently. "I wanna neutralize this guy as much as you do." She looked like she was feeling a little guilty, and he didn't particularly enjoy seeing her like that. Especially when he found out last night that she wasn't as much to blame as they had thought before.

"Well yes, I know, but you've got other things that—"

"Together," Robert said firmly. He wasn't sure about a lot of things right now. But one thing he was sure of was that they had to take Faison down together—the two of them. This case was personal to them both and she wasn't shutting him out. "Agreed?"

She stared at him before conceding quietly, "yeah, yeah…" So she understood then. Good.

"Alright."

Awkwardness settled around them again, so Robert looked back down at the chart, fiddling with it. It was strange—being so uneasy around Anna. She was usually the person he felt most comfortable around in the world and right now…she was like the sun. He couldn't stare at her for too long.

"Oh!" Anna said, smiling over-brightly again. "You—you…you forgot this at the house and Robin wanted to—"

She extended her hand to him as she spoke and he saw that his favorite tie was enclosed in her grip. Without thinking, he grasped her smaller hand to take it from her, wholly unprepared for the heated jolt that hit him as they touched. She must have felt it too because her speech stopped suddenly, mid-sentence. Her hand was smooth, soft… fit just as he remembered and as he hadn't considered for years now.

They stood there like idiots for a moment, their hands warm and entwined before Robert couldn't take it anymore and ripped his hand from hers, tossing his tie on the bed. "What's going on here?" he asked her in frustration, throwing up his arms.

Her smile was absolutely giddy and confused as she put her own hands to her face, as if relieved that he was acknowledging the new tension around them. "I don't know! I don't _know_ …I just feel so _weird_!" She danced away from him as he paced towards the door restlessly and then lifted her shoulders like she was trying to shake something off. "I feel really weird about yesterday…!"

"Weird," Robert repeated in agreement, frowning.

"Absolutely!" Her smile was at a loss, but still stunning as ever.

"I mean…" Robert struggled to articulate what either of them meant. He pointed a finger at her, impatient with the situation at hand. "This is absurd! It's absurd!"

"I know, I know," Anna's face straightened like she had been caught giggling in church, suddenly serious and composed and she briefly shielded her hands in front of her, warding the sentiment off.

"I know…I mean, what we had then…that was—that was the marriage and that was then—and that's it!"

"We're very good friends," Robert supplied. "And that's it!"

"Right!" she nodded vigorously. "We're very…close. Because of Robin…"

"And that's natural!"

"Of course." Anna licked her lips before continuing. "Oh! I…thought…um…it was probably just the drugs talking."

"Yeah!" Robert said, ready to put the blame on Sean. "Yeah, that had occurred to me!"

"Because he was really out of it when he was talking last night."

"Rambling," Robert added.

"Well yeah! Anesthetic will do that. It makes you very sentimental!"

"And he's Irish!" Robert grinned. Anna laughed back.

"And he's Irish, on top of that…yes…"

"He feels guilty, I guess…"

"I mean, the marriage wasn't gonna work anyway…" Despite the fact that Robert agreed with her, he still felt an ache in his chest when Anna proclaimed that. "It was just not gonna work." Her voice was careful and considering. "And he's Irish…"

"He's guilty about breaking us up."

"Right…and uh," Anna rubbed her head anxiously, over-stressed at the thought of their marriage. "I mean, we really didn't…expect it to last…"

"No," Robert agreed quickly, but the ache in his heart was persistent and he wasn't sure if either of them completely meant what they were saying.

"Well, we were in love…" Whether or not their marriage would have lasted, it certainly felt real to him when they were there, in it. It made him defensive. "We got married."

For him, that wasn't a small thing. He didn't jump into their marriage believing that it wasn't a real commitment. He had fully intended on marrying his pretty, infuriating, and wild WSB partner and all that came with it: 'til death do they part. I mean, it hadn't worked out…but that didn't make it any less real.

"Yeah…but…" Robert glanced over at his ex and she was looking both pensive and distressed. "You know, I mean, it wasn't this great _romance_ that he keeps talking about… I mean, you know, you weren't perfect or anything…"

He looked up, realizing that she was making the choice to be glib about it, which both annoyed him but he also may have partially deserved; he had been callous last night, leaving her at the hospital desk when Kate arrived. Her attitude almost felt like payback…or maybe she was taking cues from how he had acted earlier. He grimaced and tried to match her attitude. "Yeah, well you're…no day at the beach yourself…"

He didn't consider why the first metaphor in his arsenal involved a beach, but he was sure some quack psychologist would have an answer for him. A beach in Italy in San Remo, Anna's skin… he shook his head.

She laughed good-naturedly at his jibe and turned to him with a cute wrinkled nose, her eyes momentarily light. "It would have been just like this the whole time, we'd have been arguing!"

Robert chuckled loudly. "It's absurd!"

She laughed along with him. "I know, it's…ridiculous."

They petered off into silence as they realized that the awkwardness had still somehow not been covered. And as Robert's smile dropped, he saw Anna watching him with concern or something like it. Suddenly, the entire thing didn't feel humorous at all and neither of them wanted to pretend about it anymore. So they stood there in silence, and Robert actually wished to see Sean come through that door and break this terrible spell.

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Sean didn't have to guess who else was in the room with Robert when he heard what Robert was saying. Of course, he had expected the two of them to be waiting when he got back from his tests. Waiting for answers about Faison.

"…lied to us for thirteen years. Obviously…the friendship is gonna be a little different," Robert said slowly. He and Anna had their backs to the door as Sean entered, but they swung around as they heard his voice.

"I agree," Sean said, deciding to be bolder than he felt. "I think it's just gonna get better." Their friendship was too important to sacrifice by meekly accepting whatever condemnation they were going to put on him. "And I mean that."

Anna looked down at her hands. "I think that's gonna be a little difficult after what you told us last night," she said levelly.

Sean tilted his head, knowing he had to accept that for what it was. For her part, Anna was appearing more receptive than Robert, and that didn't surprise him. Anna understood what it was to see the gray area. Anna was more forgiving because she understood the powerlessness of living with terrible mistakes, with no finger to point. Robert had a moral rigidity that prevented him from thinking that way.

That in mind, Sean took a deep breath. "I can't blame either one of you for feeling that way. I don't know what I would do if I were you. What I told you before was true…there aren't going to be any more secrets. I did what I thought was right at the time…"

Robert wouldn't meet his eye and his dismissal was more than evident as he paced away from the hospital bed and his best friend, but Sean worked to make sure that Robert felt the sincerity of his words. "I was wrong." He straightened up and cleared his throat. "Now…let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Yeah," Robert murmured, not very enthused. "We can get down to business." He strode back toward his injured friend almost aggressively. "If you'll provide us with something on Faison that _we_ don't have!"

"Right," Anna agreed, watching Robert carefully and walking around him. "We have to shut him up about us for good."

"Alright," Sean groaned as he settled back into the bed. "When he was in his hey-day with the DVX, I was head of the WSB…which means I have a lot on him." He nodded to the diminutive brunette at the foot of his bed. "So do you, Anna."

Her lips quirked up ruefully. "Yeah…and he _knows_ that…"

Robert sighed. Anna's work with the DVX never a comfortable topic with him. "Look, if we start leaking information of a sensitive nature, he's gonna know where it came from." He cast significant looks at his two companions.

"Right," Anna whipped back. Sean caught that she was pacing haltingly, as she normally did when she was running on nervous energy. "And all he has to do is open _his_ big mouth about us."

Robert watched Anna's movement as she circled him again. "I mean, we…we're stepping on a shaky line here."

Sean looked at his two agents and it hit him that he was the most in his element here, with these mind games. Robert detested them and though Anna herself could play with the best of them, Sean often got the impression that she feared her own abilities, having succumbed to darker work before. Sean knew the feeling…but he didn't despair over it like Anna. He was a pragmatist. "It's a Catch-22 situation, isn't it? He's already warned me with the note and flowers, right?"

"Yeah," Anna said. "And he came to my house to see my daughter."

"The guy's a bomb," Robert said.

"That's why he has to be stopped."

Only Sean saw Frisco coming, the door creaking open again. "Who's gotta be stopped?"

"Hey Frisco," Sean said.

"What are you doing down here?" Robert's usual blunt nature was in full force. Frisco looked between them all, his senses as an agent accurately picking up on the atmosphere. Sean sat back quietly and watched.

"Interrupting, it looks like."

"No, no, no, you're not interrupting at all," Sean shifted in bed and smiled kindly. "Where's that beautiful pregnant wife of yours?"

"She's getting a check-up," Frisco answered. It was then that Sean noticed he was holding a police file. He dished it off to Robert, who was standing next to him. "I ran into Lewis. He wanted me to give this to you. Desiree's dead."

Anna's eyes shot up, wariness at the surface.

"Her body was found in Bangkok. Suicide." Frisco inclined his head. "Which means, she's no longer a threat to Robin." Robert handed the file to Anna and she perused it much the way Robert had. Frisco read Robert and Sean's expressions. "You don't buy it?"

"I wanna thank you for bringing it down," was all Robert said.

"Thank me?" Frisco's eyebrows went down.

"Well, I'd like to spend a little more time…studying it."

Frisco nodded slowly. "I'll look into this if you'd like, Robert."

Knowing what Frisco was going to say, Robert's response was immediately. He wiped his upper lip. "It's no longer a Bureau matter, Frisco."

Now the youngest agent was agitated. "Well I'm not talking for the WSB! I'm…talking as a friend here."

"And I appreciate that. But…her crimes were committed in my jurisdiction."

Frisco blinked. "I got a piece of this too, Robert. The woman tried to _kill_ me, now don't forget that!"

"Just leave it alone and let Robert handle it," Anna said, prompting Frisco to slam his hand on the table.

"Just what the hell is going on here! Why are you shutting me out of this?!"

"You have a pregnant wife. You shouldn't be doing this!" Anna snapped.

"Give me a straight answer, Anna!" Frisco shouted, fed up.

"That _is_ a straight answer!" Anna clapped back, unwavering. "You should have _nothing_ to do with this!"

"Anna's right," Sean said quietly. "This is the time to be with Felicia. She needs you."

Frisco looked around at them incredulously, seeing that they were all ranged against him. "So that's it, hm? That's all you have to say to me."

"Desiree's dead," Robert said. "It's over."

Frisco hummed his assent sarcastically, tongue firmly in cheek. And then he rounded back toward the bed, persistent and eager to help as ever, but face cold and serious. "For a long time now, I've known that you're keeping something from me. _You three_. You're not telling me something."

Anna was intent on him, no give apparent in her face. "Just go to Felicia," she ordered him, pronouncing each word emphatically. "Leave it alone."

Frisco pursed his lips, furious by their refusal, but unable to make them talk. "Fine," he said. "If…you need anything, you know where you can find me." And with that, he stalked away, saying nothing else.

As the door closed behind him, Anna looked at Robert and her veneer slowly dropped as ferocity succumbed to revelation. The secrets…the lies. They all sat in this room and they _felt_ the unbearable familiarity, a cycle repeating that they didn't want. "What are we doing?" she asked them, a panicked edge to her voice. "What are we doing, we are starting it all over again!"

Neither man answered her. There was no satisfactory response. They were silenced by secrets that could see them all dead.

Robert finally huffed and gathered himself together. "I'd best get going."

"Where are you going?" Anna said.

"Thailand. As soon as I make the necessary arrangements."

Anna nodded quickly. "I think we can use this, you know, I think we can nail Faison with Desiree's death."

Sean had alarm bells going off in his head. "I don't think we should get our hopes up too high, here."

Anna's brow furrowed. "You don't believe it's suicide."

"No," Sean said. "I think Faison had her killed. The problem is proving it."

Robert was already leaving. "I'll find something."

"I wouldn't be too optimistic, old buddy," Sean called. "The man is clever enough to cover his own tracks."

"This is the cleanest way for us to do it," Anna responded matter-of-factly, but Robert had already rounded back.

"I mean, look," Robert said, waving the file in the air, "if I can prove that he murdered or had her murdered…I turn him over to the local authorities, they arrest him, and we aren't even involved."

"He's not gonna come after us then."

"Fine," Sean shrugged. "I just hope it's that simple." He stared at Anna shrewdly. "Just in case it's not, I think you and I have to concentrate on nailing him for crimes against the US Government."

"Then he's just gonna tell them what we did!" she cried, leaning over Sean.

"So what? We deny it!" Sean snapped back.

"He has proof!" Anna rightly pointed out. But Robert touched her elbow.

"Wait, wait…he has a point."

Anna turned around and blinked, clearly having expected Robert to support her view.

"Faison's ex-DVX. The Bureau will never believe him."

Anna seemed unable to believe what she was hearing, stepping into her ex-husband in distress, and hand briefly pressing to his chest. "But he's going to try to kill you when he—"

"So what?" Robert said angrily, his response too rapid.

"—when he knows that you're going after him!"

Sean watched as they closed in on each other, and he thought idly that it looked like they had had some version of this argument before. Their emotions bubbling over were too ready at the trigger. Especially Robert. Yes, they had definitely had this argument before.

"Alright, then what am I gonna do?" Robert snarled. "Stand around, let this man come after my daughter?!" His hands, once clenched, fell to his sides and Sean shook his head.

"Anna. Come on, we don't have a choice. We _have_ to go after him."

Anna swung back on her bedridden friend, her eyes wide and earnest. "I don't think we do! I think if we just leave him alone, then he will—" she gestured to the door and Sean nearly rolled his eyes.

"Oh, just go away, is that it?" he said sarcastically. "Come on! You're whistling Dixie."

"He's already lobbed himself on your doorstep," Robert pointed out.

"Right!" Anna gritted. "And I told him that I wanted him to leave me alone!" Her hand swiped again at Robert's chest, this time frustration mingling with the fear as she swept around him.

"Yes!" Robert exclaimed, getting more and more provoked. "And what a big, fat waste of time that was!" His hand came down on the bed, mirroring Anna's irritation. " _He's besotted with you_! He'll do whatever's necessary to get you!"

Sean watched them, having never witnessed them have an argument like this. It was clear that Robert was unhappy at that development: Faison's one-sided feelings for Anna. Terribly unhappy. Sean wondered _when_ Robert found out about that—Faison's personal interest …in Anna. He doubted it was something Anna would volunteer herself, knowing how Robert could get. Even Sean should have picked up on it sooner all those years ago, but he was too fixed on the romantic issues of his own agents at the time. He had known that if Robert were to ever find out, he wouldn't take kindly to it. After all, Robert had been involved with Anna intimately at the time…

"Then why don't you let me handle him?" Anna asked, but Robert cut her off with a defiant and point-blank "No" as the words were still coming out of her mouth.

Sean watched them with some interest beyond the professional, his eyes shifting from one to the other. They had forgotten he was even there.

Robert's voice lowered threateningly and he focused on Anna , Sean knew he wanted her to mark his every word. "I'm not gonna stand around and let this _slug_ …come after my family."

An unprecedent amount of emotion rose in Anna's voice, as close to pleading as she could get without losing face, her hands reaching out. "But I don't want him to hurt—"

"I don't care!" Robert yelled at her, cutting her off again. "I'm angry! If he wants a little bit of action? It's _time_."

Ripping the police file from the table, Robert tore out of the room without so much as a goodbye.

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Hours later, Anna had her fingers pressed to her forehead, her head bowed in concentration.

"Tangiers."

"Mhmm…"

"Yeah, it was in Tangiers…"

"Was it '79?"

She hesitated. "Uh, yeah…" Sean held his pen steady as Anna lifted her head, looking worn and confused. "Uh, wait…no, um…"

Sean frowned, watching her fumble around for the memory. "Come on, Anna. Come on."

"I can't!" she cried stressfully.

"Think. Think!"

"I can't! I am—I'm trying to…" Throwing her hands up, she rose from the bed and walked to the wall, planting her hands against it like she wished it would swallow her up. Sean watched the tense line of her back, her dark hair falling in waves over it. He knew that the exhaustion was more mental and emotional than anything, and that worried him. He was seeing more and more that Anna hadn't been exaggerating before about Faison.

" _After all this time, he still has a hold on me!"_

There was something about that man and her relationship with him that was tying Anna in knots and taking a toll on her like he had never seen. The young, pretty recruit Agent Devane, fresh out of the Academy and hand-picked by Sean himself, was a true prodigy—provocative, but always cool and collected and completely confident.

This version… was hanging on by a thread. And she needed to get her nerve back. Sean's instincts told him that no matter what they did or how badly Robert wished to protect her, bringing down Faison was going to come down mostly to Anna. And Sean's instincts usually steered him right.

"Look, look, if…if Faison can come up with dates and places, and you can't, he can prove you wrong."

Anna clenched her fingers, scraping them into the wall. "I know. I know…"

Sean took a breath, relaxing even though she wasn't. "Alright, let's try it again, eh?" he coaxed.

She bowed her head briefly and then spun off the corner. "You know how difficult this is for me? I mean, I spent my entire life trying to forget about it. I can't just pull it up like that."

Sean sighed, guilt welling up in him again. "Look, there are only so many ways I can say I'm sorry."

"'I'm sorry' doesn't stop Robin from finding out about me." Her voice was hard, but he could tell that a lot of her ire wasn't for him, but self-directed.

"You're not the only guilty one, you know." Sean's sins had been brought to bear much later than Anna's and if anyone should be worrying about a guilty conscience, it should be him.

Anna gave him a look. "Yes, but your _daughter_ isn't going to find out what you did."

"Yeah, well, I have Tiffany to contend with. You think I like the idea of standing there, telling her what _I've_ done?" Sean argued. What went down had stayed between the three of them for so long, buried in the darkest pit of their memories, that maybe they had forgotten that there were plenty of loved ones to consider in all of this. And if he read Anna's vulnerable face correctly, she was cataloguing them right now.

"It's not just fair, is it?" She frowned at the floor. "I really don't mind…taking the blame for what I did, but I just hate the fact that my daughter and my friends have to suffer for it." She looked at Sean, taking a step toward him. "Did you see Frisco's face in here? He knew that we were shutting him out! He knew we were lying to him."

"We don't have a choice," Sean said simply.

"And Kate." The guilt on her face magnified as she met his eye. "I _ruined_ her wedding day!"

Sean sighed, thinking to himself that if anyone would want to take responsibility for that, it shouldn't be Anna. It was Robert's wedding day too. And he made the decision to hustle Robin and Anna out of town with Duke the day of his own wedding. Sean hadn't said anything about it at the time, because he tried very hard to stay out of Robert and Anna's relationship after his first interference… but honestly, he hadn't thought that was the best idea to begin with. It was true that Katherine had paid the price for that. But that wasn't on Anna.

"Heaven only knows what she's thinking now with Robert spending so much time with me!" She bowed her head over his bed and Sean was thinking of what he could possibly say to comfort her when the door opened and Robin burst in.

"Hi, guys!"

Sean's heart swelled at the sight of something so innocent and good to break the tension. "Hi, look who's here!"

But Robin, inheriting some degree of her parents' savvy, had already noticed her mother looking both tired and unhappy. "What's wrong?" she asked her.

"Nothing," Anna said softly.

"Hey, I brought this for you." She held a little flower in her hand. "Isn't it pretty?"

Anna gave up her misery to the love so adequately expressed by her child and wrapped her tightly in her arms. Sean laughed softly at the sight of them. This was what they had to protect, right there. He promised himself right there that he wouldn't let anything damage the sight before him. He owed it to Robin's parents as much as he did Robin herself.

Robin laughed too as they broke apart. "It's okay I came by, isn't it?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Yeah, of course it's okay," Sean's smile wrinkled the corners of his eyes. He pulled one of his gifts from the side table. "You know, the only thing that matters though, is that your mom and I were just about ready to get into this box of chocolates, so I'm glad you're here."

Robin, leaning against the bed, put a polite hand out. "Oh, no thank you. I'm so full…" She smiled sweetly at her godfather, her mother's eyes shining in that face. "Kate took me to pizza today," she said.

"Ah…" Sean murmured in understanding.

Anna looked up immediately at Kate's name. "I didn't know you were having lunch with her."

Robin shrugged at her mom's inquiring stare. "I didn't either, she stopped by school and we went to the club."

Anna seemed a bit surprised at that, and Sean couldn't blame her. Katherine was a wonderful lady, but lately, she had had more trouble dealing with feelings of resentment towards Robert's devotion to Robin, and especially Anna. And because of that, she had been working herself into the ground without time for anybody. Sean had heard it with his own ears, recalling going up to her office when the club was being built and Anna had disappeared.

When he had asked Kate that day if she had heard anything from Anna, her response was to laugh derisively.

 _Since when am I included in that network, Sean?_

Sean had apologized, turned on the charm, assured her that Robert loved her, and listened to her vent her frustration: the secrets, the distance, and finally…Anna.

" _Sean, when he puts everything on the line for his ex-wife…naturally, I'm gonna be just a little bit insecure, don't you think?"_

Sean had been dealing pretty heavily with his own secrets at the time, and he had given Katherine some advice that probably had never been geared towards her anyway: don't give up on Robert. But he hadn't left her office that day feeling as if he had convinced Kate of anything. She had already begun losing faith in Robert's love for her.

Of course, Robert hadn't known then what he knew now…about his first marriage and what really went into its destruction. And now that Sean had told him, it may have made an already-present problem worse.

"…must've talked your heads off," Anna was saying as Sean's mind came back to the present, her voice light and unconcerned.

"Yeah, it was really fun…but I'm kind of bummed, 'cause…I mentioned Italy."

Anna and Sean stared at Robin, uncomprehending as to why that would be a bad thing. "So?" Anna said.

"Well, see, I was talking about how much I liked Italian food. And then I said it was probably because you and Daddy got married in San Remo. And all of the sudden, Kate got really quiet…and I don't know why. Do you?"

Anna exchanged glances with Sean over Robin's head, but they both said nothing.

Out loud, Sean wasn't going to touch that one with a ten-foot pole.

But in his mind, Sean had to admit… it sounded like the problem he had seen a month ago might have taken a life of its own.

A/N: Review if you're so inclined. Would appreciate it! Robert and Anna haven't been a show couple in years, but I hope they still have their fans!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry this was a little late in coming! But don't worry, I'm not stopping haha. Is Robert really already gone from GH again? Thank you to **sammy11357** , **ShanRB** , and **BoandNora-ItsOneWord** for reviewing! I really appreciate it and you guys are awesome for taking the time! Again, a lot of this is just setting the stage, but I think Katherine's POV is important, otherwise it wouldn't be here, trust me. Enjoy, guys!

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Katherine Delafield had believed that once she was engaged to the man she loved, that the best was only yet to come.

Engagement led to wedding plans led to marriage and maybe a family: a shared life. And everyone that she knew—from her friends, her family, her fiancée, to Mary…had assured her of that.

But the opposite had happened.

Her engagement to Robert Scorpio had been shadowed by Robert spending less and less time with her, her wedding plans were made basically on her own, and any excitement that she could remember Robert displaying was about Anna and Robin throwing their rehearsal dinner.

Yes, while she prepared their wedding, Robert was working to smuggle Anna and Robin out of Port Charles and he decided to do that _on the day of their wedding_.

Their wedding had only been a cover for the true, grand event: Duke and Anna living happily ever after.

And of course, none of it went as it was supposed to.

Did it ever?

She vividly remembered the somber Robert of that horrible day—the man who had no real words for her except what had gone wrong, while she stood there like an idiot in her wedding dress. The man who told her that he hadn't wanted to even come to the church and talk to her, because he had wanted to stay with his ex-wife and comfort _her._ But Anna had told him to leave and so he had done as requested. Robert had only been standing there because Anna told him to go.

Kate knew that Robert had no idea what those words really spelled out to her.

" _Good lord, Robert, you didn't just leave her there?"_

" _I didn't want to, but she insisted."_

Kate had been fooling herself.

At the time, she had thought it was selfish of her, and she had hated the feeling. Truly, it had been selfish, whether she was emotionally justified in feeling that way or not. She had wanted her wedding day to be about _her_ , damnit.

But now, she wondered… had their wedding not happened because it just wasn't meant to happen?

All this time, she had been trying so hard not to cast out blame on anyone. There was so much that had occurred that seemed out of anyone's control…or been caused by things that had started way before Robert came barreling into Katherine's life with his police badge and his Australian charm.

But then, why did Robert make the choices that he did? Couldn't he have done things differently? Couldn't Anna? Was Kate a fool for staying with a man who would never be able to fully commit to her when he already had a family before her? A family that she wanted to be included in…but felt barred from in certain ways?

And could she live her entire life having to discount all those moments when she would see Robert kiss and hug Anna, look at her tenderly, and drop everything for her? She thought she could…but lately, every time she witnessed an affectionate exchange between them, she couldn't dampen the ire she felt.

Could she live with all the excuses from Robert? And could she live with the excuses she gave to herself?

 _And now he was even dreaming about her_ , Kate thought with a good dose of irritation and exhaustion.

She didn't blame Anna, she really didn't. As far as Kate could tell, Robert's behavior was the way it had always been: Anna and Robin (and sometimes even Robert's job) were first priority and everything else came after. Anna probably didn't even notice because it was the way she and Robert had always been... Kate's tolerance had just not worn thin until now.

Katherine hadn't known Duke long, but she couldn't imagine that the relationship between Robert and Anna _hadn't_ botheredhim. Beyond feeling very sad for the family Duke had left behind, she hadn't thought much about him recently. But now, she wished he were still alive, because maybe she needed advice from someone more experienced with this than she. Other than Duke…who else could she turn to who would have such a personal perspective?

"Extra onions and double cheese, oh boy… two garlic bread!" Bobbie giggled, coming from the back kitchen to the Ruby's counter with containers of food for Kate, who laughed along with her for a brief moment of levity. "Sean is fully recovered!"

"Well, if the garlic doesn't kill him, the chili will…" Kate responded, as she reached for her purse.

"Hi," came a familiar, accented voice from behind her, a voice Kate was not at all eager to hear.

"Hi!" Bobbie said as she rang it up.

Kate also greeted Anna and geared up to leave as quickly as possible so she wouldn't get stuck talking to her. As much as she wanted to keep their friendship normal, things weren't normal right now and Katherine didn't _feel_ normal about it…so until she could get her bearings and figure out what she was going to do, she was making an effort to avoid Anna for fear of it getting awkward between them.

Anna was her friend, and if she kept telling herself that, she hoped that she could feel it again. She just needed space, that was all.

But Anna dropped her purse onto the chair next to Kate's and smiled at Bobbie. "So where's Ruby?"

"Oh! She had something to do for the church, so I'm filling in for her." Bobbie turned to Kate. "I'll put all of this in a paper basket for you, okay?"

Kate stood to leave, nodding her head. "Great, I'll be by for it a little bit later." She gave Anna a half-smile that she hoped would dismiss herself. "Bye, see ya…"

"Okay," Anna said, sounding only a little put-off as Kate strode past her. "Um, you know what?"

Kate stopped as Anna called, heaving a sigh internally before she turned around to face the petite brunette, keeping her face empty of anything good or bad. Neutrality and blandness was the best way to go.

"Can we just have a coffee, maybe? And have a chat for a little while?"

This had been exactly what Kate was dreading. She tried to look apologetic. "Oh, it's just, I have to be at the club by the first seating." She made to leave again, but Anna was nothing if not persistent. She heard her take a step towards the exit with her and turned around again.

"Well maybe, could we have a drink between shows or something?" Anna asked, her brown eyes hopeful.

"It's a bad night tonight, a really bad night…" Kate muttered the excuse, still backing away and Anna threw up her hands in surrender.

"Alright…it was just an idea…!"

Kate nodded politely, feeling both guilty and not guilty at all. "See ya."

She hated this. She wanted Robert back and she wanted her friendship with Anna back…but right now, she just didn't see how she could have either.

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"Well, Sean," Katherine laughed, watching him with empty the basket she brought him. "If you can eat like that, then I think it's safe to say that you are on the mend!"

"You're a treasure, Katie," Sean said in reply as he unwrapped the garlic bread with gusto. "I'm feeling stronger by the minute… How's the club?"

"Fantastic. Yeah, yeah…never a dull moment. Or a spare moment, actually. But it's great! Booked solid every night."

"Don't work yourself too hard, now," Sean warned lightly, his Irish eyes twinkling. "But I'm very happy to hear that. Hopefully, I'll have a reservation there soon."

"Now _you_ don't push it! Your table will be waiting whenever you're ready." Kate promised.

"I'm gonna hold you to that…but for now, I'm content to have you deliver so I can see your lovely face while I'm stuck here." He turned to her with a marked change in countenance. "How are you really?"

The bald question startled her and Kate blinked, not sure how he had moved so quickly out of their lighthearted banter. "Oh. I'm fine."

Sean didn't look impressed. "Katie."

Katherine shook her head, self-conscious all of the sudden. She stood up from the bed. "I can't believe you're asking _me_ if I'm okay when you're the one lying here in a hospital bed!"

"My condition is getting better everyday," Sean said. "How about you? And I'm not talking about your work."

If Sean was going to keep it up with the personal questions, Kate might as well indulge him. Kate new that Sean was up to his eyeballs in whatever Robert and Anna were working on right now, and if she had a problem with their relationship, she was talking to one of the people who knew them best.

"I don't know, Sean. You see more of Robert than I do, so you tell me." Kate said, her voice sharper than she would have wished, but too fed-up to soften it. "And you know something about that? It's funny, because a little while ago Robert was acting very, very strange…about you and Anna. And the next thing I know, you three are spending a lot of time together holed up here, whispering among yourselves. I mean, Sean," she laughed in a hollow sort of way, "they've been hogging all your visiting hours!"

"There's a reason for that."

Kate nodded, finishing his thought for him. "But you can't tell me. And _Robert_ can't tell me."

"It doesn't have anything to do with you…" Sean interjected firmly, "or your relationship with Robert that he can't tell you. It's business, Katie. Just business."

But Katherine no longer believed that. Not after that night a week ago when Robert was talking in his sleep. "But Sean, answer me this."

"What?" He set down his food, as if he suspected this was going to be a hard question.

"You knew Robert and Anna when they were married…right?" She was almost positive that he did, and if so, he was the only person in Port Charles that _had_ known them back then.

Sean's silence was long enough that Kate began to feel uncertain, so she felt compelled to explain. "The reason I'm asking is because you've known them both a long time. And Robert told me it was while he and Anna were working together and you were their boss at one point, so I thought that you probably—"

"I knew them then," Sean cut her off. And in his voice, there was a darkness that Kate had never heard before. It gave her a slight urge to back away or change the subject…had she gotten into something that was more than what she supposed? He cleared his throat and his eyes were flat. "But it was…the marriage was a very private…" he paused. "Why do you ask about that?"

Kate was taken aback at how…cagey Sean had just become. Not so much what he was saying, but _how_ he was saying it. And the look in his eyes… it was a look Robert often got when he was very upset, but was working to mask it. If Kate hadn't lived with Robert for over a year, she might have been fooled. But experience taught her that whatever was on his face right now, it was not surprise.

So Robert's dream wasn't some random occurrence then…this wasn't just business. Was it related to whatever had Anna and Robert spending so much time with Sean, behind closed doors? Did any of it have something to do with the wedding in San Remo?

"Did you know that Robert has never told me why he and Anna divorced?" Kate said.

"No, I didn't know that…" Sean said quietly.

"I just sometimes wonder…" Kate realized that Sean was no longer touching his food and he looked profoundly disturbed. She blinked. "I'm sorry, Sean. I shouldn't be—I know that they are your best friends. And you should be focused on your recovery, not on—"

"Oh, come off it, Kate!" Sean said, he was focused back on her now and not wherever he had been before. "I brought it up. No apologies. _You_ are myfriend too."

Kate smiled, accepting that statement. "I know that. But I'm also serious." She rummaged around him, removing all of his food from the basket so she could take the empty receptacle back to Ruby's. "What I really want is for you to get well, alright?"

"Kate."

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him with a degree of seriousness that stopped him in his tracks. "I really don't want to discuss this anymore, okay?"

He held up his hands. "Okay. I don't mean to upset you."

Kate sighed. "I know, Sean…" She gave him a gentle hug. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

He chuckled, trying to offer some levity to the tension in the room. "Don't be a stranger."

"I won't."

Truthfully, she needed to get away from Sean and away from everything else that reminded her of her fiancée. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a place in Port Charles that would accomplish that.

And of course, when she opened the door to Sean's hospital room, the literal _last_ person on Earth she wanted to see was standing there waiting.

"Hi! You following me around?" Anna attempted to joke, but Katherine really couldn't bring herself to play along this time. She barely grunted in response as she arranged the basket around her forearm and thought very seriously about blowing by Anna completely, but good manners and the knowledge that her friend sincerely felt bad about all of this prevented her from doing so.

"Could we maybe have that chat now?" Anna's smile and dark eyes were sparkling hopefully again, like a puppy that didn't understand the word 'no'. "Before I go in…"

"You know, I... I really didn't realize how long I'd been in there with Sean," Kate began but Anna cut her off, shaking her head and appearing a little frustrated.

"Could we do that? Please…"

She was insistent on this… Kate stared at her, realizing that Anna wasn't going to be put off. She wanted to sort this out badly, and Kate didn't blame her. Kate just didn't know how that was possible right now.

"Alright," she acquiesced reluctantly.

Anna nodded, before looking briefly uncomfortable and glancing at the floor. Katherine could tell she was happy that her persistence had paid off…but not at all happy about the conversation itself. "Robin said you had lunch together and that she mentioned Italy and San Remo…and she thought that perhaps you were upset and I wondered if there was a problem…"

Katherine's heart sank in embarrassment. Robin was perceptive and she hadn't masked her feelings very well, clearly. But she couldn't help but feel indignant about the entire situation. Why should she be made to feel ridiculous about this? It wasn't normal for a man who was happily in a relationship to be muttering another woman's name in his sleep, especially an ex-wife! She rubbed her head, figuring that it needed to come out, public place or not.

"Well…let's see…Robert mumbled that name in his sleep, I guess, along with _your_ name and the word 'forever'? And um…yes, I guess you could say I have a 'problem' with that."

This didn't seem to be what Anna was expecting, but then again, she also didn't look surprised _enough_ for Kate's taste. Her hesitation was only momentary and her slim shoulders gave a half-shrug. "Well, goodness, I'm sorry…I mean, it doesn't—"

Katherine held up her hands, stopping any explanation Anna may have offered, because there _was_ no explanation good enough. "Oh, please—you know, really, it's okay, because… I'd rather find out these things now then—then later." She had racked her brain already, trying to figure out what could have prompted Robert to have a dream that would have him talking like that in his sleep…and have there be some acceptable explanation for her. She couldn't find one. And she didn't know what would happen if she never did.

"It's easy to misunderstand something like that," Anna talked over Katherine as she turned her back on the brunette and headed for the elevator doors. "But that _is_ meaningless."

Well, that was just too much. Katherine swung back around to face her. "You know, I don't think so," she said, her voice deceptively light. "I…I think that Robert—no, I _know_ that Robert…is still committed to you and to Robin."

"Yes, of course he is." Of course he is. Why would Anna disagree with that? It was a simple fact of her existence. But that had never bothered Kate before like it did now. She hadn't been prepared for the depth of it. She hadn't been prepared to compare Robert's commitment to each of them and find herself coming up short. "But that doesn't stop him from loving you, Katherine."

She knew that they shouldn't have had this discussion in public…Anna's eyes were wide and uncomprehending, and she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Do you have any… _any_ idea what he feels for you, Anna? Any idea at all?"

The brunette's mouth closed and she continued to stare at Kate with that hopeful, honest expression. But Kate had never sensed more deception. Whether it was Anna lying to herself about Robert's feelings for her…or if Anna wanted to fool Kate… she couldn't figure out. But Kate could tell Anna _all about_ those little details over the years—the things that had Kate hesitating, double-taking, and watching carefully at the interaction between Robert and his ex-wife. She could tell Anna all about it.

Anna should have already known.

"As soon as he gets back from his trip, you two are gonna set about your arrangements," Anna pressed on, choosing to ignore the question entirely. "He wants that more than anything!"

Kate laughed at her, looking at the floor in amazement before meeting Anna's eyes. "I'm sorry but …I can't help noticing that the two of you are even beginning to sound alike. 'Oh Katie, just wait 'til I get back'" she flourished her hand in the air, "'everything will be back to normal!' I'm sorry," Kate lowered her voice and leaned in so Anna could still hear her. Her voice felt like breaking as all of the failed moments for her and Robert came roaring back to mind. "Do you know how many times I've heard that?"

Anna met her eyes squarely. "Isn't it the truth?"

Ah, the truth. The truth of what she was beginning to feel for her friend and fiancée was burning into an anger she didn't want to confront. "The _truth is_ ," Kate hissed. "I can't live my life this way! And I won't build my _future_ , with a man whose living in the past!"

"Katherine, he isn't!" Anna protested as Kate turned her back on her again and went straight to the elevators to push the button. She had to get away.

"I mean, he's just trying to find the best way that he can to _deal_ with it. I know it's difficult, but you've gotta understand…" Kate kept pressing the button, willing the doors to open. She wanted to get away from this woman, from Robert, from _all_ of the lies! "I am his past. You can't change that. But you and Robert, you have a future together. Don't just throw that away because of something that—"

"Okay, I'll tell you what," Katherine said, looking back at Anna one last time. "If you say that it…" she sighed and looked down, barely able to get the words out because of the frustration, helplessly mindful of the fact that they were in a public place and they were _supposed_ to be friends. "…if you say that it means nothing when Robert has dreams about the place where the two of you were married… Then…if it means nothing, then fine, I will believe that. I'll do my best. I will try to do that.""

She turned away then, but she thought about it. She thought about the way Anna looked as she had spoken, the strange compassion in her eyes that Katherine wished she understood. It hadn't been pitying. She didn't know what it was. But her eyes hadn't deceived her to the shock in her friend's eyes and the way her mouth hung open wordlessly at Katherine's outburst. Whether it was because Anna really didn't know Robert felt the way that he did or if she thought her friend was being ridiculous, Kate didn't know. And frankly, she didn't care in that moment either.

And with that, she escaped into the elevator, leaving Anna to watch after her.

Anna hadn't really needed to say anything anyway. Katherine's mind was running wild.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the wait, I've had a lot of life changes in the past few months so I didn't have much time to write. Thanks so much for the reviews **ShanRB** and **ReetSLP**! It inspires me to keep going when I hear from readers! Don't worry, this story is going to definitely keep going ;)

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"It's time to encourage the good Commissioner to stop butting in to my affairs."

The house was large and empty, but it struck Jacques that Faison's voice never echoed. He looked up from the papers warily at Faison's too-calm pronouncement, sensing a storm brewing deeply. "He could be dangerous."

"I'm the one who can be dangerous," Faison responded flatly. "I made a deal with Scorpio and he's not keeping it."

As Jacques moved to exit the room, Faison called back to him. "Did you deliver the letter I asked you to?"

His man confirmed it. "I dropped it in the letterbox at her house."

Faison only gave the ghost of a smirk, the kind that would normally put Jacques at ease. But it didn't, this time. Jacques didn't know why...but something about this whole thing was off. And there was a small but persistent feeling that sometime in the future, it would be up to _him_ to protect his boss, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. He watched Faison, who wasn't worried at all. "Good. I expect an answer soon."

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Fresh off a plane from Thailand, Robert did not stop back at the cottage before heading back to Sean's hospital room. He would see his fiancée soon. He knew Anna would eventually make her way there and somehow when he recalled Kate's face that morning he left, he didn't think going to the Lavery house now was the best idea.

Even so, after what had transpired between the three of them at GH already, he dreaded the sight of Sean's hospital room door. At this point in time, Robert was to be forced into this accord with Sean to take down an enemy, regardless of what would happen after Faison was finally out of their hair. So he wasn't sorry when a beaming Tiffany gave him the news that Sean was being released from the hospital that day.

He met eyes with his former boss over the blonde's shoulder, trying to dull the reflexive anger that arose in him. Now wasn't the time. He was an investigator, an agent, a patriot. He wasn't going to get _personal_ with any of this...

"Best news I've heard all day," Robert smiled at Tiff obligingly as she bustled impatiently around them. Anna was along shortly after, greeting Sean like nothing ever happened. Robert had to wonder if she was _that_ good an actress or if he honestly just cared more than she did about the depth of betrayal. Either option prickled at him unpleasantly, since Anna truly felt like his only ally. And sometimes, she didn't completely at that. Which was not something he wished to examine at the present moment.

She leaned into him after greeting the other two and he caught the pleasant scent of her hair. "How was your trip?"

He leaned in too and muttered "lots to tell" out of the corner of his mouth with exaggerated secrecy. Sean was watching them while Tiffany buzzed happily around her husband. Robert dared him to say anything about it.

"Honey, I…" Sean began, but then he looked around at all three of them and started again. "Actually, I have something to say to all three of you, now that you're all…here."

He proceeded to thank them for getting him through his latest close call, his wife and his two "very close friends". The silence that fell after Sean's plainly heartfelt words was awkward and Robert felt Anna glance at him from his periphery, and he knew she was mildly uncomfortable.

"Well," Robert said with a soft cough to dispel his irritation, "we wouldn't have wanted to lose you."

After another short beat, Sean took a cue to send Tiffany out to bother the doctors and get her out of the room. When she left, he changed modes, all practiced and alert. "Alright, come on, what's the story?"

Robert was all too happy to talk shop. "Desiree's induced suicide was confirmed by the local coroner. It was indeed a poison, a rather nasty variety. I had an independent study done and came up with the same thing. Effective... but nasty."

"And supposedly self-inflicted, I presume, right?" Sean scoffed with his own dry manner.

"Right," he reached into his lapel. "She left a note. _My darling,_ " at this Robert couldn't help but glance at a frowning Anna. " _I could not bear to face the rest of my life on the run or locked up in prison. Either way would mean enduring—"_

Anna looked a little sick as she said, "Boy, I can't believe this…"

"It gets better," Robert assured her. "— _a lifetime without you. Please don't be angry, this is the only way out for me. Understand I am thinking only of you. All my love, Desiree."_

"You check the handwriting?" Anna asked needlessly. Robert had been doing this for years. Nevertheless, he humored her and nodded.

"Its hers."

"And no link to Faison at all, right?" Sean said, frustration primed.

"What would you expect from an old pro?"

"So I take it none of us believe it was a suicide." Anna said.

"Of course not," Sean responds, shaking his head. "That's not what really worries me though."

"Right. Point is that Faison has simply uh…eliminated the obstacle, that now allows him to go after the thing that he really wants." Again, his eyes found Anna with significance, but she didn't react. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to or not, but it bothered him that she looked more speculative than uneasy.

He had seen that look before…long ago, and more sparingly in recent times. She was reverting, back to an agent.

 _Back to a double-agent._ A voice whispered cruelly in the back of his mind.

He shook it off, warding away the angry voices. And Anna Devane continued her thousand-yard stare, none-the-wiser.

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"This bit about the village, the peninsula—is that true?" Robert had Anna and Sean's file of memories in his hand, browsing through it. He had to admit that some of it was nasty beyond anything he might have assigned to one human being.

Anna had a hand stressing methodically between her eyes. "Yeah, he bragged about it."

"And what about the chemical warfare experiments on his own men?" Robert chuckled incredulously.

"One of them was a double agent—"

Anna stood with a groan, fully agitated. "Do we have to keep talking about this? It's just sickening!"

Robert closed the file and stood as well, back to business. "Look, as far as I'm concerned, we have enough here to take to the Bureau. I tell them Faison's alive. They do our work for us."

Anna swung around to scowl at him. "Oh, Robert, it's not gonna stop there!"

"Robert, everything in that file…" Sean sliced his hand over to the manila folder. "Those are secrets that Anna and I kept for thirteen years, now the WSB's gonna wanna know your source!"

"It's our death certificate, right there in here." Anna tapped the papers in Robert's hand with one finger.

Robert look between their anxious faces and his mouth twisted into a dismissive line. "Never happened. I'll keep you out of it."

Sean groaned and Anna leaned in. "As soon as Faison knows that we betrayed him, he's not gonna take the fall alone!"

"Yeah, he starts pointing fingers, they go _right at us_."

"Oh, come on! You supposed the Bureau's gonna take the word of a sleazeball over two of their own?"

" _Will you come off of it?!_ Loyalty is not one of the WSB's strong suits!"

 _Well, you would know, wouldn't you, Sean?_ Robert bit back the reply that jumped through his head and settled instead for a cold look.

"I think this whole thing is too risky," Anna said.

"It's too risky for all of us," Sean agreed. He gave Robert a no-nonsense glare. "Do you realize the kind of heat you're gonna get to reveal your source?"

Anna looked shaky and sick with fear. She muttered more about not wanting to go ahead with this as Sean spoke and Robert felt a brief sympathy; he had rarely seen her so off-balance, not since the end of their marriage, when she was unmasked as the double agent. "It's not working…" she breathed, her eyes on the ground.

"What else _would_ you like to do?" he asked her calmly. When she turned back to him, her eyes were wide and pleading.

"You don't have anything to do with these problems, right? Why don't you just let Sean and I clean it up."

"And how're you gonna do that?" Robert followed-up, seeing where this was going. He already knew her answer. Damnit, how he knew this woman and those imploring dark eyes. When she got scared, she got reckless, and it scared the hell out of him. But if he showed her that, then she would never cave to his line of thinking, so he remained as calm as possible, knowing the words that would come out of her mouth before she said them.

She took a deep breath. "We're gonna go after Faison."

Robert laughed mirthlessly. "Look. The object of the exercise it to keep Robin and the both of you out of this."

"Right, but you can't keep us out of it, we're already into it!" Sean growled. He jerked his head toward Anna. "I agree with Anna, we go after him."

"Alright," Robert said. He ignored the possible distress he felt at his two best friends ranged against him, threatening to take a dark leap where Robert wouldn't. They had done that before and look where it had gotten them all. Right to this moment. "We're professionals… rule #6 in the book, as I recall, we take the least risky approach, right?" He looked at their utterly unconvinced faces and steadfastly ignored them. "Right. So," he picked up the papers with more force than necessary, pretending to study them. "I go to the Bureau first…well, of course I'm the only one that _can_ go to the Bureau, can I?"

Anna was watching him intently, seeing right beyond his joking façade to that thinly-veiled fury. "It might be too late."

"Meaning what?"

"He already had Desiree killed in Thailand. He may know that you took a trip out there." She raised her voice. "That means that he has carte blanche to do whatever it is that he has—"

"Enough!" Robert cut across her, revealing the anger that Anna had meant to reveal, but not much caring that he had walked right into it. "We've wasted enough time with this conversation. We DEAL with this man before—" The possibilities raced through his mind and again, he tried to shut it down. Visions of Anna, visions of his _daughter_. "…before he does something else to us."

And with that, he left Anna and Sean standing there and slammed the room of the door, ignoring the medical personnel milling about, the ones that couldn't mind their own damn business from the look of them. Only moments later came Anna's voice.

"Robert!"

Oh, how he wanted to ignore her. He did. But he couldn't find it in himself, as ever, and he was soon turning around to face her.

"What now?"

"Look, I'm letting you do this your way because you've been hurt by all of this too." Robert almost stepped back as she pushed her soft, firm hands into his and squeezed, trying to put him under that influence she so naturally exuded. "And I know you don't want us to go off and do something on our own, so I need you to _promise_ me that when the Bureau doesn't listen and this doesn't work that you'll let me do what I need to do."

" _If_ the Bureau doesn't listen," Robert insisted, trying to draw his hands away from her, but she held fast. "We, and I do mean _we_ … will figure something else out."

"I already know what to do!" Anna pulled at his fingers, forcefully pushing him towards her. "I know how to handle him."

"I don't want you handling him, Anna!" Robert said at a near-shouting level that had several doctors, nurses, and patients turning towards them, perturbed and Robert immediately regretting his volume.

"Hush," Anna glared, finally releasing him, to Robert's immense relief, not to be examined for the cause. "Unless you want the whole hospital to be privy to our investigation!"

"Of course, dear," Robert sneered more quietly. "Wouldn't want the denizens of Port Chuck knowing the dark truth, would we? Although, it's probably too much to be believed of you."

He hit home on that one and Anna flinched visibly. Robert blinked and then quickly reeled her back in, as if the faster he could salve the unintentional wound, the faster it would heal. No one had ever told him emotions didn't work that way. "I didn't mean that."

"You did," Anna said, blinking away the hurt from her eyes. "And that's alright. As long as you listen to me. As long as you let me do what I need to do."

She didn't understand that he could not let her. After everything that had happened thirteen years ago, the _last_ place he wanted her was anywhere near Faison. Anna nearly jumped out of her skin when they were interrupted.

"Is everything alright over here?" Dr. Tom Hardy looked concerned, but his voice was kind as he inquired and Robert could see that many eyes behind him were still drawn over here. Robert dropped his arms from Anna's and smiled.

"Sure, Doc…just a private conversation. We apologize for any disturbances, we'll take it elsewhere."

Anna nodded when Tom glanced at her for confirmation and Robert felt a prickle of irritation that anyone could believe him capable of bullying his ex-wife, especially someone who knew them as well as Tom did. Without saying much else, Robert grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her away and into the elevator.

"Oh, Anna…" Once the doors closed them in, Robert rubbed a hand over his face and tried his best not to be cruel. "I don't know how many ways I can tell you that I really, _really_ don't want you near this person."

"Right. Well you know what I want, Robert?" Anna asked him tiredly. "I want him _out_ of our lives! I'm fine with you doing what you need to do the right way. But Faison isn't going to wait much longer before he makes a move. And if it comes to it, you have to let me do this!"

"And you can do it?" Robert challenged her. "You can be some objective operative after all that he has done?"

Anna frowned at her ex's skepticism. "It's _you_ that can't be objective, Robert. Faison…he doesn't work like you. I know you 'know' this, but I don't think you really believe what he's capable of." Anna looked away from him. "He's evil." When her eyes met his again, they were confident, but irritated. "I can get the job done, you know. I always have."

Robert sighed. "That you do, luv." The elevator pinged and he briskly kissed her cheek. "I'll see you when I get back. We'll talk about this then."

As Robert went his separate way, headed to talk to WSB Director Ross, he shook his head.

Like hell they would ever talk about it again.

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"So what do you think that was all about?" Nurse Amy Vining murmured breathlessly to the orderly beside her. She had, by a fortunate turn of events, been on the floor for Robert and Anna's heated conversation and hurried exit. And she was very intrigued by it, needless to say. "Did you know that they were married before? They have this cute little daughter named Robin and they've always been best friends, but you wouldn't think that from looking at them today. Today, they looked liked a pair of quarreling lov—"

"You know, Nurse Vining," came a male voice from behind that sent the orderly scurrying away with some lame excuse. "I'd bet you don't get paid to spread gossip about prominent citizens. Isn't there a phone you could answer or a patient to check on?"

Amy was rolling her eyes before she ever turned around. She recognized the voice. It was an arrogant young doctor who had just begun his residency. The nurses either loved him or hated him, depending on how much they went in for a chiseled jaw and charming smile. "Dr. Fitzpatrick. You only moved here a month ago. What would you know?" Amy might not mind a young guy around the hospital who was easy on the eyes, but she did mind him ruining her fun.

"I know enough." The young doctor had already heard about the police commissioner and his ex-wife, the very beautiful former police chief who ran a private investigator office with their mutual best friend, the wealthy Sean Donely. All three had been big-time WSB spies, according to the grapevine. As he had said before, Robert and Anna were prominent citizens in Port Charles. But that didn't mean he had to give Amy the satisfaction of telling tales about other people's private lives. "I know you don't need to start spreading gossip when you didn't hear a word of their conversation!"

Amy crossed her arms and pouted. "I did too. Robert said she didn't want Anna 'handling' some man! Which is already _something_. I've always thought Robert had _quite_ the jealousy problem where Anna was concerned. He and her last husband, Duke, didn't get along at all. Why, I remember when she got kidnapped by Grant Putnam, and the two of them were just snarling at each other right over Anna's hospital bed, blaming each other for what happened to her." She sighed, like imagining herself being fought over by a dashing Scotsman and rugged Australian. "And anyway, you didn't _need_ to hear what he and Anna were saying, you just had to look at their body language…I mean, I've seen Robert and Anna flirt, everybody has. But that was just—"

"You know what?" Dr. Fitzpatrick said, grabbing his clipboard. "I'll catch you later. I have actual work to do. And why don't you go see if those blood samples I asked about an hour ago are ready, okay?"

Amy huffed, but headed downstairs all the same. On the way, she was ecstatic to run into Tiffany, who had just gone out to answer a call from the station. "Tiffany! How are you? I heard Sean is going to be released."

Tiffany smiled, her mind somewhat elsewhere. "Yes, he is. Actually, I was going to get the papers when there was some issue at the station. I'm taking him home right now. Robert and Anna are with him."

Amy smiled. "Robert and Anna just left, actually…" she paused for dramatic effect. "They were in the hall having _some_ conversation and Tom went to break it up and they took off for the elevators."

"The elevators?" Tiffany frowned, looking toward the doors. "Huh. You said they had a fight?"

"Well, I don't know for sure. It looked very…intense. They were kind of grabbing at each other and Robert lost his cool for a minute there, but nobody could really hear _what_ exactly they were saying. And then they left together." Amy took a step closer to Tiffany, unable to wipe the speculative look off her face. "And I also heard that earlier this week, Anna and Katherine were arguing right outside Sean's room and Katherine was very upset about it and Anna looked upset. Did Robert and Katherine break up?"

"Break _up_?" Tiffany gasped. "Of course not! Why would you even think…" she trailed off, realizing who she was talking to and what Amy was inferring. "Oh, come on! I'm sure that was nothing. Just Robert and Anna being…" she searched for the word she was looking for, but came up with nothing. "…themselves. It doesn't mean anything. Don't you go telling anybody that Robert and Katherine broke up, because it just isn't true." Her eyes narrowed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my husband's paperwork so that he can go!"

Without another word, Tiffany swept off to do exactly that. It didn't take her long to return, armed with a wheelchair and worked-up into a slight temper.

"Sean! I have your release papers and we can get out of here now. Which is good, because you will not _believe_ what Amy Vining just asked me!"

A/N: Yo! Reviews are love :)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Lots going on, but also lots more to this story. Thanks to **4gcrazyme, BoandNora-ItsOneWord, and ShanRB** for reviewing! And without further ado…

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 _Why is he doing this? I don't understand…_

Anna made her way to the island with that thought repeating and repeating in her head, unable to ward it off and unable to come to a conclusion. Her heart was pounding out of her chest at such a furious beat, she couldn't think.

 _Why is he doing this?_

This wasn't a game. This wasn't her career, this wasn't the work of spies. This was her life. And now he was making it clear, what she had already feared: Faison using her daughter, infiltrating her life in the most intimate way possible.

 _I hate him._

Robin's eyes, Anna's own eyes in Robin's face, bright with hope like hers never were anymore…talking about telling the kids at school, talking about writing, talking about P.K. Sinclair, as if the man existed!

She couldn't tear her eyes from the dark, bottomless water beneath the boat, but Anna knew they must be close to the docks now. She barely knew how she had gotten this far anyway… the last thing she knew, she had expected a quiet night at home with Robin. And now, here she was, fueled by nothing but maternal instinct. And she would have to face Cesar Faison and she would have to be calm and composed. She would have to put on the act she did every moment she was in the man's presence, because that was the only way she could keep him from eating her alive.

And then a strange thought popped into her head, a sudden and hungry wish that Robert actually understood this all. Everything. Because she couldn't keep him out of it, not when the man was threatening their daughter. Faison, for all of his disdain towards Scorpio, was ensuring that Robert remain a needle in his side by threatening his family. And Faison would be the only willing participant in his own grand drama, pulling them all like they were puppets on a string... nothing more.

"Miss, here you are, watch your step" said the boatman. Anna jolted out of her reverie and asked the man to wait here, please, because she wouldn't be long.

She remembered that once upon a time, it was so easy to make herself like stone—like a diamond: hard, glittery, unattainable and unyielding. It wasn't so easy anymore… not with the very man who had taught her so many of those tricks. Not after Robert and Duke had seen underneath the beautiful veneer, and not since she conceived her little girl.

 _Stop it. Don't. You are stone._

Faison's man seemed to know her and expect her. He wordlessly parted the doors to Faison's office upon demand and she strode in without a thought but the pulsing fury. And Spoon Island's Lazarus gave her a small smile and pushed his chair to face her, looking for all the world as if a visit from her could be nothing but pleasant.

"Anna," he folded his hands and sat back carelessly as if to cast a glance at her whole figure. "Well, it seems to be my day for visitors, but…it's always good to see you."

She could see he meant that.

Anna's hand flicked up, holding the Robin's letter tightly. "What's this?"

"Robin got my letter?" Faison said guilelessly. It was infuriating, but Anna wouldn't let him bait her, not yet.

"I told you not to have anything to do with my daughter."

He parted his hands innocently. "I've done nothing but offer to write a book with her."

"Oh, come on!" Anna snapped. "What are you doing?" She didn't elaborate. Faison didn't need her to.

"Well I thought it would be an excellent opportunity for her. She lived a…beautiful story, which I would like to write. And for her it would be a way for her to…preserve her love and…trust for Casey."

He always spoke so thoughtfully. He always sounded so sincere. Anna bit back the urge to spit in his face. Instead, she slammed the letter down on his desk.

"I'm obviously not making myself clear, am I? I want you to stay away from my daughter. And me."

She was emphatic, and Faison briefly looked away, as if to gather himself. "You're not being fair. I would never harm either of you, you know that. We made a bargain and I will keep my end of it…as I'm sure you will."

The bargain…Anna didn't allow her expression to even flicker with guilt; if she did, Faison would see. But all the same, he leaned closer, an odd twinkle in his eye. "Robert's doing nothing to…jeopardize it…is he?"

There was a certain level of perverse enjoyment Anna got from that microscopic flinch every time Faison brought Robert up. It was as if he was unable to stop himself. She suppressed a smile and said, "no, he isn't," without batting an eyelash.

Faison watched her intently and nodded. Anna touched the letter again. "You knew I wouldn't let this happen. What kind of game are you playing now?"

"I'm way beyond games, Anna," Faison said, pushing back from his desk. "Way beyond games. But since you're here, why don't we discuss some unfinished…personal business? Hm?"

Without waiting for a response, he moved around her and towards his miniature bar.

"I don't want a drink," Anna said peevishly. Faison ignored her and continued to pour, so she moved back to the frustrating topic at hand. "What are you still doing here? You said you were gonna leave Port Charles!"

He screwed the cap back onto the bottle and looked up at her as if she had told him something mildly startling about tomorrow's weather. "I still have some business to do, Anna."

"But you said you were gonna leave," Anna repeated.

Faison sighed.

"We made a bargain, didn't we?" she pressed. She could hear the slight complaint in her voice and forced herself to even it out. But Anna could tell that Faison was picking up on it—as he would pick up on any minute gesture she made.

 _You have to be smarter than him,_ she told herself.

"Yeah and I kept my end of it. Your alien friend got his crystal back and I'm stuck here, I didn't receive anything." The first hints of petulance and ill-humor were detectable in his tone this time.

Anna stared at him, eyes widening. "You didn't ask for anything."

"Oh yes, I did," Faison said matter-of-factly. "But I didn't think it was necessary to put it in simple words." And then she could see it: the slight smile creeping into his features, the way his eyes lit up underneath the act…the way the flame of a candle glowed under the shade of a hand.

"Our eyes…spoke of it so eloquently."

"What are you talking about?" Anna stared back at him.

"Fate, Anna," he said softly. "Fate. A fate that reunited us after thirteen long years." He finally extended her glass to her and she took it, uncomprehendingly.

He always did this; spoke as if they had been the lovers separated. It was mad. She stared into the crystal, and then tipped her head back and downed it in a swallow. And after a breath, she warned, "don't do this."

And he looked down, as he always did when she tried to breach the fantasy, the slight wound in his expression. "You can see what we could have together." He wasn't going to let her climb that wall. "And you proved it when you came back to me."

"I came back—I mean, I came…here…because of Casey."

Faison nodded, raising his eyebrows. "You may say that, but you know better. We made a bargain, Anna, and like it or not, you sealed it when you put on…Davnee's dress." He sipped his drink and Anna snarled with frustration.

"Davnee doesn't exist! She isn't real, why do you keep talking about her?" She didn't know how to make him understand that this wasn't just another tool he could use, that they weren't characters in a bloody book. " _I'm_ real!"

"Yes, she's real. She's always been real…" he observed the last of his drink, practically ignoring her momentarily for his own thoughts. "But we can make an end to that. You just say when…where." And he smiled, draining the glass under her concerned gaze. His smugness turned her stomach, but she squared off on him again.

"We didn't make any deal because I put the bloody dress on."

"There's much more than a _deal_ between us, Anna, it's a dream come true."

"A fantasy," Anna corrected, becoming weary of his mania.

"Yeah, you can say that. After thirteen long years, we're finally together, but don't be alarmed…there's no rush. From here on we can share anything."

Anna walked aimlessly past him, unable to bear his certainty over a dream—one that had no hope of ever coming true. "You know the more pressure you put on me, I'm just going to pull away…"

"Well, don't you listen at all, Anna? I just told you there's no rush—no rush," he swore. And then he looked at her more closely. "Anna, you afraid to admit what you feel for me? Even to yourself."

She laughed, unable to help herself. "No, oh God…no. I'm not _afraid_ of anything—"

"Then relax," he drawled. He pulled his hand from his pocket. "Do you care for another drink?"

"I don't want one…no," she answered, crinkling her nose as he poured.

"What do you want?"

Anna looked up at him, pursing her lips sarcastically. "What do you want _from me_?"

"To pick up where we…stranded, thirteen years ago."

"Oh, as business partners?"

He drank again after saying carelessly, "oh my memories are different."

"Your delusions," she corrected again, walking around and turning her back on him.

"Ahhh no no no," he said. "I remember well, Anna. We were becoming closer and _closer_ before Scorpio came along." She felt him move closer, suffocating the room.

"That may be what you imagined, but that was not happening…"

"Well, you can deny that, I expect you to." His eyes burned into the side of her face. "But who knows what might have happened if it weren't for him?"

"Nothing," Anna muttered with a smile.

"That's your delusion," Faison muttered back. "It's our destiny. It was and it still is: to be together."

Anna tossed her head in exasperation and swung around as he began to turn away. "What else do I have to do to make you understand that I don't want that—I never did!" She was now at _his_ back, but he seemed unbothered by her proximity.

"To understand. Listen. In time you will know that I'm not the man I was." He crossed towards his desk and she followed.

"I'm not the woman either…that I was." In other words, _you don't know me_.

"That's right," he opened the door of his birdcage and extended his arm inward. "Don't you think it's time that we start to know each other the way we are now?" He stroked the bird huddling in the corner.

"No," Anna whispered, feeling almost guilty for how honest it sounded. Faison closed the cage and turned to her again.

"So sure, so stubborn, but…so frightened you may be wrong." She looked up at his goading, saying nothing. "I'll prove you wrong," he told her. "We're both free now, Anna. We could be so happy, all you have to do is let go of the past and…open yourself to the future."

After a moment's pause, Anna looked away from him and walked over to a small table, plucking up a pair of glasses. "That's right, we really don't know each other, do we now?"

"Exactly."

She tried them on and then came back to herself and remember that she was in Faison's mansion and those were _his_. She removed them. "You may not like what I've become."

"I doubt that. But what better time to find out then right now? You change your mind about that drink?"

Anna startled, not realizing he had gotten so close. "No."

"Stay for dinner?"

"No…I uh, I—Robin. I have to get back."

Faison lips flattened with displeasure. "You don't want her to worry, I understand that completely." He lips twitched. "That's one way you've changed. You now have a daughter to love and protect."

Robin's face flashed into her mind and those feelings predictably rushed to the surface. "I love her," Anna said simply.

"Dearest Anna, I care about Robin too. And I would never ever do anything to harm her." He smiled, as if he read something from her face that she couldn't know. "I think Robin likes me, doesn't she? She does, I can tell." His face changed, becoming that shrewd expression that she recalled quite well from over a decade ago. "And that doesn't please you at all, does it? It should. We already have a basis for a good relationship."

Anna chose not take the bait and merely said, "I have to go."

"Would you give Scorpio a message?" he called to her as she rushed towards the door.

"Yeah, what?"

"Let him know that Robin doesn't need to be protected by the police. And if he doubts my word, then let him know that I've taken his word that he won't let anyone know that I'm alive…Anna?"

"Yeah, I'll tell him that," she said, turning away again and pushing open the double doors to the hallway. Faison kept following.

"And tell him that I'm rewriting the book _Crystalline Conspiracy_. We agreed."

"He'll be glad," Anna said. She just wanted to get out, nearly losing focus as he rambled.

"—already know how the story will end."

"How?" she said dully.

"Happily ever after."

Anna Devane had had decidedly enough of Cesar Faison. And she jerked too hard on the door, until his composed hands pushed against hers.

"Here." He opened the door and she bowed her head in goodbye before all but flying out into the misty Spoon Island night, wanting to crawl out of her skin.

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"Hi!" Robin grinned and ran to the door like the little girl she still was (but just by a small margin now) into Robert's arms. "I missed you!"

"Oh, I missed you too," Robert mumbled into his daughter's shoulder, kissing her. "Boy, did I need that."

It was a small but necessary reprieve to see Robin after the day he had. Anna had been right, and not only was that slightly galling, it only pushed the idea that things were going to have to get messy sooner rather than later.

" _Ancient history, Commissioner. Old crimes, committed by a dead man…Let me talk to your sources, if they can back up what's in these files, then maybe I can do something for you."_

" _I can't do that."_

" _You want me to catch the guy? First, you bring me somebody—anybody…who knew the man intimately. If they're willing to testify against him, you got it."_

" _I'm telling you it's him because I've seen him!"_

" _Have you ever met him before? Back when he was doing these crimes?"_

" _No, but—"_

" _But nothing, Commissioner! Now look, until you can produce some evidence here, something concrete, or testimony to the contrary, the WSB will continue to consider Cesar Faison dead."_

" _You keep this guy dead, the only makes him more deadly… If you weren't so smug and short-sighted, everything you need to know is in these files."_

" _As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing in those files. They're rather boring. Thirteen year old information."_

" _I'm telling you this guy is dangerous!"_

" _You want us to believe you? Then tell us who your source is."_

" _I can't."_

" _Hm. Whoever it is must know him very well."_

"… _they do."_

" _Then let us have a name, alright? Come on! Until you do, our hands are tied here."_

" _Since when did the Bureau become more concerned with policy over justice?"_

" _Since Robert Scorpio became more interested in protecting someone's identity than putting this dead man away where he belongs."_

 _Robert wasn't stupid. He knew what they were saying as he left, and he knew that the wheels would now be turning, except not against Faison. Ross would have been cataloguing his every gesture and flinch, would have noticed that he was shaken up by this—and instead of taking care of the problem, he instead would be wondering who was Robert's source._

 _There was no proof, of course, but Robert knew Ross' mind would immediately jump to two likely people. And if Ross was worth half his salt, he would zone in on Anna as the person Robert had most reason to protect. Especially since it was terribly-kept secret within the WSB that Robert and Anna had a child together._

 _And those odds curdled Robert's blood._

 _And worse, Robert knew what Anna was going to say once she found out: she would want to take Faison out herself. And Robert would rather die than let her make the attempt._

 _All he knew was that he wasn't going to let it happen again._

"Um, where's your mum, is she with Sean?" Robert looked around and realized that Anna hadn't appeared yet.

Robin shook her head. "Don't know…"

"Beats me, Commish," Olin said from behind them, rubbing at her hands with a dishtowel. "She ran out of here right after Robin showed her the letter from that uh, writer dude out on Spoon Island."

"What?" None of this was making sense, and the little that did was not good.

"Oh! I was just about to tell you, Mr. Sinclair, he wants me to collaborate on a book with him about Casey!"

"What." No, the whole thing was not good. Not good at all. And where the hell was Anna?

Robert could guess.

"You want to stay for dinner?" Robin asked brightly, clearly not reading the trouble on her father's face. He stood.

"No, sweetie, I can't. I've got something to do."

"But you just got here. Aren't you gonna wait for Mom?"

Robert glanced at Olin. "Ah, no, I'll—I'll talk to her…later." Or now, if he could find her. _Damnit Anna_. "This is important."

"You're going to the club?"

"No—uhhh, yes." Robert had forgotten. He did have plans at the club. And he would show up there just as soon as he dragged Anna off of that bloody island. "Uh, look—call Katherine, and tell her that I'll be a little late."

As soon as Robin agreed, he kissed her cheek and headed off for the docks.

A/N: Annnnnndddd…thank you with proceeding with me through the stage-setting. Next chapter is where things FINALLY take a turn in a slightly different direction. A good different direction, in my humble opinion. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Was able to get this out quickly and hopefully it can continue this way! Thanks to **BoandNora-ItsOneWord, ShanRB, 4gcrazyme** and **Guest** for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this.

"Listen, I need to get out to the island."

"Ah, forget it," the boatman said as he continued down the dock, hands in his pocket. He nudged a chin at the black sky. "I'm not gonna take ya out tonight."

Losing patience faster than usual, Robert whipped out his badge and shoved it in the man's face. "Hey, I can commandeer your crummy boat if I have to, alright?" Over the man shoulder, Anna came into view, rubbing her arms at the chill. Robert sighed. "Get outta here."

"What's with you, man?" he grumbled before walking off to the rest of his night.

Robert approached Anna, scanning her quickly for anything out of order. She appeared to pass muster, other than the fact that she was freezing. He pulled off his jacket. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, what happened at the Bureau?" she said in one breath, watching him closely.

"What happened was that they shut me out," Robert said bitterly as he wrapped her up in the coat, adjusting it around her shoulders. "You were out there with him, right?" He gave it a final shake before his hands left her shoulders. Anna likely read the warning tone and didn't answer that immediately.

"…did Ross say anything to you?"

Knowing what she was doing, Robert shook his head. "Anna, what's going on here? What's this about a collaboration, with Robin?"

"She told you about the letter?" Anna ventured and Robert turned away angrily.

"Yeah, she's gonna be working with a famous author!" he said, retreading Robin's own excitement. Anna crinkled her nose.

"No, she's not, he—ah," Anna seemed to be struggling with how to phrase it, and Robert was sure that no matter how she dressed it up, he wasn't going to like it. "Faison is calling in his markers right now…"

Robert paused, before looking at her warily. "….meaning?"

"That he," Anna again faltered, glancing up at him from below dark lashes, "…he wants me to get to know him better or something…?"

Robert let out an angry breath before charging past her, tension in every muscle of his body. "I'll swim out there if I have to!" More and more, the prospect of killing this man was looking like the most attractive option.

Anna gripped his arm as he swung past her, begging, "no, no, no, _please_ don't do that—"

"Listen, what else went on out there?!" Robert demanded, swinging back around at her touch, his momentum forcing her to back up as he faced her. He couldn't help it, his rage had been building ever since he spoke with Robin and the night air wasn't going to cool it. Worse yet, he couldn't keep the accusation from his voice, and Anna picked up on that rather well.

"What, nothing!" Anna said indignantly. "I—" she sighed and gave him a deprecating smile, as if just realizing that they were about to erupt into an argument on the docks. "I don't want to talk about this here. Can we go somewhere?"

Her home was not an option, as Robin would potentially be in earshot. Robert's hand slipped under her arm. "Yeah, let's go to the club, come on."

They went in relative silence. Robert didn't trust himself to speak at the moment, at least not until he could get his thoughts in order. It was alarming how this man's…obsession could get under his skin. And he knew, he knew Anna was chafing under this protectiveness and it was mucking up his relationship with Katherine, but he didn't know how to stop this train now that it had set off. It was as if thirteen years had never passed and he knew everything that he hadn't back then, and he was just trying to keep himself and Anna afloat. And their daughter besides!

And how could he protect either of them when when it came to this man, Anna always ran off to confront him alone? She had shut him out from the beginning on this, starting with Casey—that day she kicked him out of her house, and when she was on the run and everybody was breathing down _his_ neck.

"You shouldn't have gone alone," he finally said through gritted teeth. She cast him a surprised look, but didn't respond, which only stoked his frustration. "You're giving him what he wants every time you hare off to visit him on that island."

"And what would you prefer, Robert?" she asked after several long moments. "Should I have had Robin write an enthusiastic acceptance for his offer? Invited him over so they could discuss their new book?"

"Oh come on!" Robert said. "You know what I mean! I'm sure he was practically salivating over the fact that the first sign of trouble had you running over there. What do ya think his next trick will be?!"

"Well it's better than _you_ running over there!" Anna shot back. She yanked open the first door to the club and they were greeted by the music within, though neither of them paid much notice. "I don't think one letter needs to devolve into bloodshed!"

Robert sighed as Angel caught them by the entrance and watched him appraise them both before politely saying in a stage whisper, "Robert, I'm glad you're here! Your table—"

"We'll be back in just a moment, Angel. We're gonna go to the back for a minute, until the set's over," Robert cut across him and smiled widely, patting Anna on the back and causing her to discretely shrug him off.

Angel nodded helplessly before casting a glance at the stage. "Well, alright, I'll see ya then. I'll let Kate know you're here."

"Yeah, thanks Angel," Robert nodded without looking and followed Anna to the back, to Kate's dressing room.

Robert pushed the door with unnecessary force and Anna caught it before it slammed, looking aggravated. "Look. I know I shouldn't have gone out there, but _I did_! So stop going on about it and just listen to what happened!"

He spun around and gestured to her with near wildness. "How in the hell could you have been so—so…" He couldn't even think of a word. Anna groaned, her hands clasped to her chest and bent towards him, like she did when she wanted him to really listen to her.

"I—I was _panicked_ when I read the letter!"

Robert calmed minutely and straightened, trying to find reason in all of this. "Why would he break his word like that?"

"You broke yours!" Anna replied, as if he had asked if two plus two equaled four.

"Ah!" Robert spat derisively. Desiree, it had to be. If _that_ was considered breaking his word with a man who had no honor…

"He found out that you'd gone snooping around about Desiree's death. He's _not_ gonna lay low after something like that."

"Is that what he said?" Robert said belligerently. "Is that the reason he wants Robin? To tell about the tr—"

"No!"

"Then what the hell is going on?!" Robert yelled. Anna closed her eyes and walked around him, running her hands through her long hair before burying her fact in them.

"He just—he wants…he wants his Davnee—"

"Oh, she doesn't exist!" Robert snarled.

"Yes she does, it's _me_!"

"Then he's out of his tree!" They were both shouting and Robert swept his hand out cuttingly. It made him sick, this whole fantasy that Faison had built up in his head. And his wife—ex-wife being the subject of these delusions was enough to drive him to put a fist through the wall. He stepped away from her, slumping over a side table, likely looking as exhausted as he felt. And then he felt the heat of Anna's nearness as she lowered her voice.

"Robert, the more we keep pushing him, the more determined he is to fight back!" Robert grunted in grudging agreement and he felt Anna gentle away, clearly gearing up to present some sort of plan to him. And he hoped she had a better one than he did.

"That's why…I think…if I just go along with him, then we can solve all this…"

Forget it, she had a terrible plan. "You're not going back out there again," Robert ordered in the most authoritative voice he could scrounge up. He couldn't even believe she was suggesting this!

"He's gonna lose it, Robert."

"I said no! Now listen." He paused, knowing that if anything were to come out of this conversation, it was the clear recognition of the fact that Anna would never step foot in Faison's presence again if Robert could help it. He couldn't believe it? He should have _known_ she would suggest this. "We've called this—we've done this your way so far, now _I_ call the shots—"

"No!"

"I said NO!" Robert exploded. How could he make her understand the dangerous game she proposed? And what it meant to him? "Thirteen years ago—thirteen years ago this guy…this guy on that wretched Spoon Island split us up. _Well it isn't gonna happen again!_ "

His words were so loud, he felt they almost echoed off the walls. But that couldn't be true. His hands were clasping her upper arms tightly, but they loosened as Anna took a quick step back from him, her expression unreadable while he stared back, his heart moving furiously in his chest. What he meant by that….

What had he meant? He hadn't been thinking when he said it. He only said what was true, down to the core of him.

It was one of those moments again—the ones they did their best to ignore. Times where she was in his arms and smiling at him, and before he could stop himself, he briefly imagined that she was still his wife. Her dark eyes looked into his and he saw that charming girl, the one with the secret in the corner of her mouth, wanted by every male agent in the WSB and it was _him_ she loved.

The last time it happened, they were in the hospital and he was embracing another

woman, but it was _their_ eyes that were locked. And he was a fool because it was the one time it happened when he truly did her wrong…it was the time she actually needed him.

He knew that she felt it too.

"It's not going to happen…" Anna said softly, too soft to break the spell. Anna looked as if she _wanted_ to go to him, but didn't dare. So Robert touched her on impulse, feeling numb though two fingers traced her cheek. There was a question in her eyes, and when she turned her head slightly, the spell was broken and his fingers faded off of her skin.

"Anna, I don't know what we're doing here," he finally said. "Half the time, I'm in a bloody time warp and suddenly we're back in Paris." He paced away from her, turning his back because he didn't know how else to say it. "God, if Sean hadn't told us what he did, I…it shouldn't change anything."

"But it does?" Anna asked. It was frustrating, he couldn't read her voice either, he couldn't figure out what she was thinking and it was driving him insane. "What are you trying to say, Robert?"

"I'm saying…" well, might as well be honest. It was Robert's default setting, anyway. "I'm saying that I still feel weird about what Sean told us about our marriage." He turned around again, emboldened by the release of that truth, to find her standing very still.

"Ah," she exhaled, not meeting his eyes. "I see."

"What?" he said, bothered by what she clearly wasn't saying.

"Well…why? Why does it make you feel weird? Is it because Sean kept going on about how we were meant to be together and he ruined it or is it because you want me away from Faison _so badly_ that you're willing to manipulate my feelings to—"

"No! Of course not!" Robert exclaimed, offended she would even suggest such a thing. "How could you even—"

"Well then it doesn't change anything," Anna said, speaking more quickly over him. "Don't you see, Robert? I'm still the woman that agreed to betray her country one more time because they threatened her husband's life. I'm still the double agent that you found meeting with a DVX contact. You're still the man that chose to save your wife's life, _knowing_ what the punishment would be for an innocent man—a man we both worked with. I'm still the operative that Faison trained, Robert. I always will be. Nothing Sean said changed _any_ of that."

"No…" Robert said slowly, examining her more closely, the rapid speaking, the way one hand repeatedly worried a long strand of her hair. There was dishonesty in her gestures, and he was finally understanding why.

"You're afraid," he said, awed.

"No…"

"No, you are," Robert responded emphatically. "D'you think I don't know you after all this time? But what _are_ you afraid of?"

Anna rubbed her arms uncomfortably and looked away. "We're getting off-track…"

"No, I think we're right on track, luv." He stopped, going over her words. "What Sean told us _did_ change something. For me. I don't know how to go back to normal."

"Well, we didn't talk about it when it happened, so why start now?" Anna shrugged combatively, but Robert was not to be dissuaded now that he finally understood something about her demeanor. He wouldn't leave it now.

"I shouldn't have left like I did at the hospital after that. I was…I was selfish and I didn't know what I was feeling. And that's _you_ right now. Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong!" Anna shouted, her demeanor cracking so the upset came over her face. "Oh, Robert, what is the _point_ of all this? If you want me to help you—to make you feel better, I can't! You say that you can't forget thirteen years ago, well neither can I! The _look on your face_ when I woke up and saw you there at my bedside… and that _I had done it_ to you! I carried that scar around for years and removing it didn't make me forget. And now Faison is here…" her voice shook terribly, her brown eyes glistening, "and if there was any peace in this world at all, the two of you would never have met."

It was reminiscent of when he found her on Spoon Island in that dress, ready to sell herself for that very price. She was afraid then too and it hurt his heart.

"I wish Sean had never said a thing," Anna said bitterly. "Maybe then you could forget a time when I was this…this albatross hanging around your neck. And then I wouldn't have to think of the day you looked at me like I had taken everything from you."

He was floored by her words—words he hadn't heard since they met for a second time, before he knew about Robin. And just like then, knowing the truth, he felt a tenderness for her that he had never felt for another person. But how could she be so wrong?

"I couldn't," he said hoarsely. "I've never…"

"You have, you did," she said, and he could hear the tears. "I didn't need Sean to tell me. And God help me, but I can't take that tonight. Not toni—"

He was kissing her before he had any thought in his head to do it. He was _kissing_ Anna like his life depended on it—or hers. All he knew was that he couldn't hear any more of it and that rush of tenderness brought him alive and moved him. How could she not have known?

His hands were holding her face and she smelled of that clean perfume she wore and salty air, and silken strands of hair slipped over his knuckles and he couldn't stop. It was being lit on fire for a second time.

And God help her, she was kissing back.

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Katherine was halfway to the cottage before she would allow any tears to fall, but by the time she was willing to give herself that reprieve, they didn't come. All she had was an empty certainty about what she needed to do. And that was simply to leave.

She was strangely grateful, she decided, that she had not walked in and interrupted them. In truth, she hadn't had to stay long to hear all that she could take.

 _That guy on that wretched Spoon Island split us up, well it isn't going to happen again!_

It hurt…it hurt terribly to hear it all so plainly, and confirmed in so many different ways. Robert thought of Anna as his, and he was never going to stop thinking that way. Perhaps if Robert had gotten his wish years ago, he would have never been apart from Anna…Katherine didn't know, because Robert _never_ spoke about his divorce. So she could only imagine the worst…and now it seemed that she had every right.

Robert vowed that the mysterious man on the island wouldn't split them up…and now, neither would Katherine. Her deepest wish was that Robert had just told her how he felt before they had gotten involved so deeply…it would have saved them all so much trouble.

But it didn't matter anymore. She knew now and she wouldn't stand in Anna's way for another minute. The only thing left was to wait for Robert to come home and have an honest conversation with him, because despite everything, she owed him a reason.

No, she wasn't going to skulk out into the night like she had anything to be ashamed of. All three of them were adults, and it was time they started acting like it.

A/N: I wouldn't have had an R/A kiss in here while he was with Katherine, if I didn't have proof that Robert WOULD, in fact, do something like that if overcome with the impulse (with Anna, while married to Holly). This kiss was just a bit more heated. And herein lies where we veer off into more romantic territory. But at the same time, Robert is an honorable character at his core and I won't ruin that. So there will be no dirty affair or the likes. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think ;)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Too long of a wait! Thank you to **ShanRB, 4gcrazyme, chzwit,** and **BoandNora-ItsOneWord** for the reviews! You guys are fantastic. A lot of emotional reeling in this chapter, nothing (especially in Robbie's poor mind) is settled and things will keep changing… but also will stay the same, since the original story was so masterful. We're plugging along with Robert. Enjoy!

Robert returned to the cottage, his head swimming with the simple enormity of what had just happened. And he had been on autopilot after that, lost in the daze of that…reactionary, impulsive move. The part of him that wasn't in turmoil, that was most aware, did have a twinge in the back of his mind when Angel stopped him at the front and told him Katherine wasn't there. It made no sense for Katherine to disappear after her first set. But there was too much in his head right now…he couldn't think about that.

He probably should have stayed at the club, because what he _really_ needed right now was a drink… As a cheap alternative, he made his way to the fridge and cracked open a beer when a vision appeared at the foot of the stairs. His heart began beating roughly again...but he wouldn't listen to it.

"Well," Robert said cheerfully, "this is a pleasant surprise. I was… looking for you at the club."

 _I was kissing my ex-wife._

"Were you?" Kate responded, in such a way that Robert should have wondered if she could read his mind.

"Yeah. They said that you split after the first act," he answered, shoving a hand in his pocket. And as he watched her, he came back to awareness, noticing the set of her mouth and that odd shine in her eyes. Something was wrong.

"I wanted to see you," she said plainly.

Something was very wrong, more wrong than that he knew what had happened with Anna in her dressing room, wrong enough that he couldn't make a clever quip or a joke…

"What's up?" he asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

He knew he couldn't and wouldn't be dishonest with her, but he also hoped to everything that she hadn't witnessed something that would cause her pain. And with her next words, his heart sunk.

"I um…" she wasn't looking him in the eye, "I heard you and Anna talking in my dressing room and I would just like to hear more."

His mouth was very dry suddenly, and he couldn't speak. What had she seen?

They sat down in the room, feeling the gravity of this pending conversation descend on them. Robert was watching her posture and the dull sadness of her movements, trying to calculate the extent of it. There wouldn't be a dramatic outburst—they were too old for that. But something big was happening all the same.

"I know that this is all very confusing to you. And I haven't been able to explain everything…"

"Explain it to me then," Katherine said calmly.

"Well, I…I can't."

He knew it wasn't the answer that she wanted to hear, but it was the only truth he had any more. He couldn't explain this case, he couldn't explain Faison, and most of all, he couldn't explain the torrent of nameless feelings that overcame him in that dressing room. And he was completely wrong for some of that, he knew. But in other ways, the right things went far deeper into the pit of him—into the core of his family, and that he couldn't betray.

It was that paralyzing truth that hit Robert brutally—if his kiss with Anna meant nothing, he still couldn't explain why, because it was all wrapped up in secrets that could never be shared with Katherine. Never. Even if they were married. And if the kiss had meant _something_ , then that was even worse—even less explainable.

"You won't," Katherine corrected. She folded her hands and looked him steadily in the eye. "Robert. What is going on with you and Anna? I'd like to hear it from you—I'd _love_ to hear it from you before I hear it from someone else."

She was fishing, the agent in Robert concluded, which likely meant that she had heard something, but not seen the kiss. And he was unable to outright say it—not unless he knew how much damage he was doing.

"What do you think there is to tell?" he asked quietly, but that blasted her with precision.

"Don't you care about me at all?!"

Her forcefulness propelled them both to standing as Robert exclaimed indignantly, "yes!"

"Then why won't you tell me?!"

"I can't!" he refrained irritably, "I thought you accepted that."

"Accepted that. On faith…in us?" Katherine said sardonically.

"Look, what I'm dealing with is old… _very_ old family business!" Robert growled, his defenses going up.

"I just don't feel like there's an 'us' anymore…" she allowed her vulnerability to poke through, standing there in that bold red dress, and Robert's heart broke for her a little more.

"As soon as I've taken care of it, we'll get married like we should have done months ago," Robert said, trying to push aside everything else, but he couldn't.

There were so many echoes in the room—of embracing Katherine while Anna watched from the hospital desk, of leaving Katherine in the church, in her wedding dress to save Anna and Duke, Anna sobbing on the floor with Duke in her arms, dead.

Robert realized that this was _his_ fault, and no one else's. It hadn't started just tonight. That clarity of Anna, holding her head and asking him what they were doing? What they had done? Everything had been thrown into motion long ago, amongst Anna's grief and Duke's ashes. And however this was to go, he had to fix it.

"Could you answer me one question, please?"

"Yes," Robert said with grim acceptance.

"This man that you're after…" she said slowly, and her face contorted with pained confusion. "…is this the man that broke you and Anna up thirteen years ago?"

Each choice Robert seemed to make had carried devastating, heartbreaking consequences. And with Anna, it had started there, with that man.

"Is it?"

Robert swallowed and nodded. "Yes," he said hoarsely.

Kate nodded too, turning away. "I really…wish you would have told me that before."

"Would it have made things easier—?"

"Yes!" she cried, turning back towards him with her eyes still shining. "Yes. Everything would have made so much more sense…!"

"So you're easier with this now?" Robert asked dully, uncertainly. She had determined something, and she had done it without him.

"I think I am… I mean, I think I understand everything better." She inhaled softly, as if bracing her courage. "I really don't think we need to worry about…making the wedding plans. Because there's not going to be a wedding."

"No wedding," Robert repeated, her attempted detachment bleeding in to him and numbing the affect. "You actually mean that…"

"I do," she said with miserable certainty as Robert took two steps toward her, she didn't move. "I can't believe I said it."

"We love each other," Robert said honestly.

"You're the first and only man I've ever loved," Katherine offered. "But that isn't the whole issue, is it? Tell me, Robert. Tell me why are you so hell-bent on destroying a man that broke up your marriage _thirteen years_ ago?"

Robert sighed, looking away from every enunciated word. "I can't tell you that."

"I can." Katherine smiled a little, shaking her head. "The sheer simplicity of it has just alluded us all." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You're still in love with Anna."

There was a long silence, and something about hearing that _aloud_ , as some universal certainty, that hit Robert like a tidal wave, wiping out everything in its path. A notion that he could never bring himself to flirt with, even as he flirted with the subject of it. He loved Anna. But to be _in love_ with her? He thought of her words in the dressing room—" _and then I wouldn't have to think of the day you looked at me like I had taken everything from you."_

Had she been right? Did he know a single bloody thing about what he really felt?

"Anna and me," he tried, "that's—"

"It's not ridiculous," Kate interrupted. "You're still in love with her, you're still completely committed to her, and _that's_ the real truth behind all of this." She smiled bitterly again. "But like Anna, you cannot even admit it to yourself."

"You mentioned this to Anna?" Robert said immediately, looking up and wondering when and how this could have ever come up between the two women in his life. What had he missed in his personal relationship when he was so caught up with the shock of Faison's appearance? He suddenly recalled some vague chastisements from Anna about spending more time with Katherine…had Anna been keeping this from him?

"Not like this, not in so many words," Kate said finally. "But I could tell."

"Katie…I don't know how you could tell something like that when I couldn't even tell you that," Robert answered baldly. "Look, I know you aren't stupid… I'm not going to insult you by acting like this is all just business as usual. But what you're thinking…well, it's not that simple." He was trying hard not to be dishonest, but his thoughts and feelings wouldn't piece together, wouldn't let him understand them.

"But I think it is, Robert."

"I love you," he insisted. He followed her to the piano and sat on the bench with her, fighting for her because he didn't know how to give it up. And in all of this, his feelings for Kate were the easiest thing to understand. But her eyes were looking upward, mournful.

"As long as Anna is in your life, there's no room for me," she said tearfully.

"What about our life?"

She took his hand and held it, and all Robert could feel was the cold. "I stood by you 100 percent, I didn't ask questions, when you said you couldn't tell me, I said 'alright, be careful…I love you…'. And you know why I did that? Because I thought you were as committed to me as I was to you." Her hand came up and held his jaw, tender and yet still hard. "And I thought you were being honest." She stood up and moved away from him, her touch disappearing.

"I was," Robert said. He had been. He did love her.

Kate wiped the tears off her cheeks and stilled a sob. "I heard you…with Anna. In my dressing room."

Robert slowly rotated on the bench to face her, morbidly curious and sensing she was building up to whatever she had heard tonight.

"You _swore_ …that you would _kill_ this man before you'd ever let him take her away from you again, now if that isn't love…I don't know what is!"

His words being thrown back in his face sounded more damning than they even had in the dressing room and his mind went to every corner with the usual protestations.

"That wasn't what it seemed! If I could just tell you about this man...you'd realize… you'd understand… what he represents."

"You've already told me, Robert." Kate said pitilessly. "If there's anything else to it…does it really matter? Does it change what I know?"

"Maybe it does!" Robert said. "…are you going to give up on us before we find out? After all that we've shared?"

She had already started for the stairs, but at his accusation she turned around again. "Oh Robert…you know that I've tried. We both have. But I can't live like this! Don't _you_ understand?! If we are to get anywhere, you have to figure out where you stand with Anna…and where you stand with me. And until you can figure that out…I'm leaving. And I'm not sorry for it."

"So you're going to pack up your things and go?" Robert said incredulously.

Kate nodded, her blond hair coming looser in its wavy up-do. "I wish I didn't have to… but I don't have a choice, Robert. You don't know what you want."

He was losing his relationship with this woman, he realized. If he said nothing, if he let her go, could he ever repair it again? And what wasn't a lie? What was true? "I never said I loved her," Robert said to her back, and that was true.

"No," Katherine said, only looking back for a moment before disappearing into the dark, the vibrant color muted and gone. "You never denied it either."

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 _God help her, Anna was kissing back. Her lips, soft as they ever were, moved against his with the practice of a lifetime ago and Robert was mindless with the satisfaction of a fulfilled impulse, and the fact that it was_ Anna _._

 _Anna, Anna…_

 _And then as suddenly as it began, it was over… and the dark-haired beauty from a thousand years past tore away, her breathing the loudest sound in the room next to his. And immediately, the space around them became ten degrees colder as the satisfaction evaporated, and her simultaneously sober and wild eyes unmanned his. She hadn't shed her tears yet. And probably wouldn't._

" _Robert," her voice wobbled so much that she stopped for a moment to regain control. He was nearly overcome with the desire to explain himself—that it wasn't…that he just wanted her to stop_ saying _…to understand the truth, not these things she said, not what she had built up in her head. He didn't know what he wanted because he hadn't_ thought. _He decided to let her finish, to say whatever it was she wanted to say now._

 _One hand covered her lips briefly, as if to protect them, before she composed herself._

" _Robert, we can't… you_ know _we can't…"_

 _There was a needling compulsion to be embarrassed, having initiated the kiss in the first place, but as he looked at her unsteadiness and uncertainty, he lost that instinct entirely and closed his mouth, letting her stumble on. There was no intelligent thought in his head, so if she had better ones, then let her say them._

 _But instead, she clutched the sides of her head with slim, tense fingers, her gaze now fixed to the ground and her voice faraway. "What have we all done here? What are we doing?!"_

 _It was the same question she had asked not so long ago, when they had shut Frisco down in the hospital. And perhaps it was the same—a train run off the tracks, headed for what, they didn't know…_

" _I'm sorry," he said, because it was what he_ should _say and because he didn't like the look of her now, so panicked. He was chagrined to know in his heart that he wasn't sorry one bit—he couldn't bring himself to feel it, apparently. His lips were still tingling as he cleared his throat. "I apologize, I forgot myself."_

 _She looked up at him as if just remembering he was there, startled. "You don't have to—you're not—oh…" Anna shook her head. "You know what I mean."_

 _Robert nodded, looking at the floor now too because he actually had no earthly idea what she meant. And then she gasped._

" _Katherine!" Her eyes grew round and Robert remembered his fiancée…his fiancée, and where they were._

" _She should be here…she could have…" the rest went unsaid, but he grasped her meaning. And then she was pushing him out the door, a rough turn from the small, pliable figure in his arms before. "You need to go find her, talk to her! You were supposed to have done before, Robert, for God's sakes!"_

 _Her reprimand warded off the memory of the kiss long enough for him to exclaim, "Okay, I'll go!"_

 _But she had already turned away after shoving him out, and Robert knew enough of her to recognize when she was running away. And when she ran, he could never seem to catch her._

 _But he wouldn't mourn that now. He had no right._

A/N: I know that Robert especially seems out of sorts, but you can't blame a guy, can you? Anyway, next stop will be Anna's house. Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: In honor of Robert being in town, even if I don't really watch anymore lol. Thank you to **BoandNora-ItsOneWord, ShanRB, 4gcrazyme, ReetSLP, chzwit** and **tracy** for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this next bit!

Anna had long sent Robin to bed, but her daughter's questions and concerned face still assailed her thoughts.

 _Are you sure you're okay?_

In a weak, broken moment, she had kissed Robin's father—one of the few people on this earth that she could trust completely. So she wasn't okay. She hadn't even been okay before that…

But she lied and she lied some more… there were miserable moments when she felt as if it would never end. Faison was darkness, feeding into all that was wrong about her—those shadowy corners. Desperate and shaken, she had chased the light. She hadn't done that since before Robin—the WSB and the DVX, when she had felt dark and precarious and dirty…

And then she met someone who was infuriating, but heroic, and charming and they tumbled into that forbidden, romantic spell together. From the moment he stood there, tongue-tied and she smirked back at him in reckless glory and their adventure had begun. He made her feel clean and good again. He had made her look for a way out.

But it hadn't lasted. With a gun to Robert's head, she had lost the first man she ever loved, for the sake of him. No, nothing good ever seemed to last, except Robin.

Anna smiled for her daughter, but the image was tainted…Faison had put a target on Robin's back—no, not on Robin, but on her _relationship_ with Robin—the thing that she valued most in this life.

Robin's young face was creased with worry when she asked her mother if she was fine, and she didn't believe her assurances. That child was so worried, so loving and lovely and the best of Anna. So entirely blind to what her mother was…unable to understand the depth of betrayal.

 _Traitor. Liar. Seductress. Thief._

The doorbell rang and Anna shooed Robin back to bed hurriedly, not knowing who could be on the other side. For one heart-stopping moment, she thought it might be Robert, or Faison. And in that moment, she didn't know which man would be harder to face. She kissed Robin's head and waited until the girl was safely back in her room, and she felt so weary.

But she had least expected Sean at the door, who should have been home recovering!

"What are you doing here?!" She inhaled in surprise and ushered him in. "Oh, are you alright?" She observed that he looked carefully around the corner into the living room, not answering her.

"Is Robert here?"

"No, and neither should you be!" Anna chided, closing the door against the night air while Sean glanced shiftily around. Concern enveloped her as she got a closer look at his pale, glistening face and how he nursed his side… he was in no condition to be running around at this hour. Anna went to his side and put a hand on his arm, but he stubbornly nudged her off.

"Look, I know that he struck out with the WSB." She recognized that slight vulnerability in his eyes, reminding her of those moments best forgotten in Sean's hospital room when he revealed his betrayal. And she was surprised to realize that it still hurt… Sean looked at her and look chagrined, as if he knew what she was thinking. "You think he's gonna tell me about it?"

Concern and sympathy warred with the remembrance that she could very well distrust him, knowing what she knew… but Sean had taken a bullet for her child…and she knew he _was_ her friend, whatever had happened in the past. "No," she said honestly and apologetically, running a hand down his sweaty cheek, wondering how he had even got here under his own power. "Probably not."

Sean exhaled, looking back down at her. "Are you?"

Anna took that pointed look for what it was. Sean and Robert were best friends, but Anna and Sean knew each other differently, and in some ways…better. Her friend and former boss was reaching out a hand that Robert couldn't take at this time, and Anna knew what she needed to do.

"Yeah," she breathed, running a hand through her hair and dropping her gaze. "Yeah…sit down and I'll tell you."

It was almost a relief, to unburden to Sean about the facts of the case. Sean was clinical and calculating… if she were to propose to Sean what she had to Robert hours ago, Sean wouldn't get passionate about her and wouldn't fly off the handle.

He wouldn't sweep her up in a stolen, breathless kiss that neither of them had any business sharing.

She paced in front of him and told him everything, leaving out her most recent conversation with Robert to avoid muddying it up. "…so Faison insists that I…I stick to my side of the bargain…"

Sean glanced sideways, hands clasped and shoulders hunched, but there was finally a little color returning to his face. "You aren't going to, are you?"

"No," Anna hissed, worrying her lower lip and rubbing her arms uncomfortably. "No, of course not, I'm just…telling him that so that I can have some kind of _control_ over him."

"Oh, come on, Anna, don't kid yourself," Sean sighed.

She wasn't surprised that he dismissed the notion, but Anna was fairly confident that Sean didn't even know Faison like she did. Sean had always thought of Faison like something of his darker counterpart, the other side of his coin. But Faison wasn't that…only Anna had seen the nakedness in his eyes, for her.

Of course, that wasn't the immediate problem. As Robert so aptly demonstrated in Katherine's dressing room, he wasn't interested in letting Anna handle things. And without Sean to make her ex-husband see reason, she didn't see how she could put him off.

"It's Robert I'm worried about," Anna said, leaning over the couch, recent memories on her mind. "Because now that the Bureau's turned him down, he's gonna go after Faison on his own…"

Sean groaned in frustration, throwing his head back on to the cushion. "Ugh, you know this whole thing is stupid, this whole thing is _absolutely_ stupid!" He stood up in agitation, turning to Anna. "It's not even his—it's not even his problem!" As Anna approached him, he threw his hands up in surrender, aggressive and desperate. "It's not even yours! You didn't cause this mess!" He backed away from her attempts to calm him down, though he was looking sicker from the moment he was back on his feet. He jabbed a finger at himself. "I did. And _I'm_ the one who's gonna fix it!"

"Sean, you shouldn't be here," Anna said, finally getting her hands over his and stilling their frantic motions. She understood his need to discuss this, but he was far too injured to deal with any of this now. "You should go home!"

"No!" He batted her gentle grip away, shaking his head. "No, what I'm going to do is I'm going to go to Ross. And I'm gonna give Ross _exactly_ what he's asking for!"

Anna's breath caught in her throat as she stared at him, horror sinking in to her bones. "What are you _talking_ about?" she pronounced. "You'd have to tell him about us!"

Sean coughed and turned his face away from hers, as if he couldn't be aware of the graveness of what he was suggesting. "Don't worry, I'll leave you and Robert out of it."

"No!" Anna said with disgust. She couldn't believe he was saying this, and she could barely find the words to argue. "You can't do that! You'll spend the rest of your life in prison, Sean, you can't do that!" She was nearly spluttering and her voice jumped in pitch, hoping that he wasn't serious at all. With everything else, she'd be damned if _any_ of them suffered on account of Faison's resurrection. "Don't even think about it!"

"Look," Sean said, cutting a hand across her. "That's _all_ I can think about, please." He walked past her, his shoulder brushing hers. "That's all I can think about."

"Sean." Anna grabbed him, trying to force him to face her and injecting a calm into her tone that she couldn't feel.

"What?" he snapped, not strong enough to fight her.

"You're not gonna do this…" she tried to smile. "You, you have a life now, you have Tiffany, you have—"

"Look," Sean cut her off with violent suddenness, "what I have with Tiffany, and what I would _do to Tiffany_ , can't even _compare to what I did to you and Robert_." He forced the words through gritted teeth, his face so close, so heartbroken that it gave her pause. She swallowed her words, knowing too well his pain. She'd felt it before.

"No, Anna, this is the only way, this is the _only way_." He was panting, so fiercely believing his words that she was swept up.

"God," she breathed, stepping back and looking down. She didn't want this at the cost of anyone she cared about. She didn't want Sean to offer himself for both of their sins. "Maybe I…maybe I could tell him myself."

"Oh yeah, that's great, that's a great idea," Sean said sarcastically, looking her in the face. "Then what about Robin? She spends the rest of her life living down that her mother was a traitor?!"

A fresh wave of fear came at hearing that aloud and she knew Sean was right about that at least. She couldn't do it. Not if it cost her Robin.

"I mean, come on, we've gotta face this. I mean, the only way that we can destroy this Faison character," he took a breath and hesitated and Anna could see that falter in his face. Not for Robin this time, but for Tiffany. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it either. "…is by destroying the people that we love, I mean, it's…" he shook his head, unable to go on.

"I guess we'll just have to ride it out then," Anna said, resigned. "…with Robert's help…I guess that's what we have to do…"

 _I'm rewriting history,_ Robert had said to her in Scotland, _things would have been so much different with us if you had just walked on that last assignment… They wanted me, they wanted to kill me, ME!_

She had looked into Robert's eyes and seen it: that monumental disappointment and that recklessness for her love—that frightening face. He thought she had lost her nerve as an agent and he hadn't cared at all about his life or his honor, what he valued most in this world. And he had felt that way for love of her.

She paced away from Sean, feeling as if she wanted to crawl out of her skin again, tingling. Stretching by the window, she pivoted around again, looking at Sean's wounded posture and feeling a kinship. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's kind of ironic, isn't it…? He's the only one of us that didn't do anything thirteen years ago…" She shook her head.

Sean stared at her grimly, that connection between them buzzing in his eyes, and he looked away with a quiet acceptance of a truth that he once had not understood, but did now. "Nothing but…lie to protect the one he loved…"

The truth of that sank in to the pit of her stomach and asked the unbidden question of why Robert did love her so much, so quickly, when she had done so little to deserve it… And now, now he couldn't stop paying for it…for _her_.

"Oh Sean," Anna muttered, "how much more lying are we gonna have to do? …what's it gonna cost us?"

But Sean didn't know that. None of them could.

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Anna was exhausted and rung-out by the total of the day's events, but she couldn't find sleep. Sean had gone at least a half-hour ago, and it seemed that Robin had _finally_ drifted off and left the worry for her mother to her waking hours. Anna, for her part, was grateful for that.

But somehow, the night wasn't done with her yet, and perhaps that was why she couldn't relax as someone else announced their presence outside of her door.

 _What is it about tonight?_ she wondered, a little disgruntled, as she opened the door and found Robert on the other side, looking extremely ill-at-ease. She couldn't blame him, as the feeling was very much mutual.

In fact, there was a split-second in which she considered closing the door in his face, but Robert must have seen the indecision, because he moved quickly and shoved past her and into the house.

"Sorry about the hour, but I have to talk to you."

There was only one reason he _should_ be coming to her home this late at night. "…did something happen with Faison?"

"No, no, no…" he waved his hand off at the suggestion and she felt her irritation rise in response.

"Then what are you doing here, Robert? Then where's Katherine?" She had hoped that he would have found Kate by now, talked to her, and perhaps sorted some things out… but when Robert looked at her in response, and his chest rose and fell with effort, she braced herself.

"She called off the engagement," Robert said.

Anna froze, having not expected something quite so serious. She really had…but how could she have done?

"Why?" Anna heard herself say.

Robert said nothing, and at his silence, her eyes snapped up to his, filled with horror for the second time that night.

"She didn't…?"

"No," Robert muttered, shame-faced at the implication. "She only overheard us talking in her dressing room."

Only talking. But even then…

"Oh no," Anna mouthed, thinking of Robert's words… his vow that Faison would never separate them again.

"Puts my behavior over the last few months to the fact that… I'm still in love with you."

Anna stared at him, not sure what to say to that…or what Robert would have her say. Before Faison, before Sean's confession, before that raw moment in Katherine's dressing room, she would have shrugged the accusation off—she wouldn't have even thought about it. But now… she felt caught. She felt as if they had been put on a course that they couldn't turn back from. She couldn't shrug off Katherine's words and pretend that they meant nothing. Harder still was the knowledge that she _didn't want them to be true._ And what if they were…

"Oh, I see…" she said, stepping slowly around Robert so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"And you're still in love with me."

He delivered the latter as if it was a final blow, the last nail in the coffin. Hopefully? Anna closed her eyes and she could feel Robert's lips on hers again—heady and weak-at-the-knees. How it used to feel, even in her imagining. She rubbed her throat nervously, but she wouldn't turn around and see whatever was on his face. She wouldn't dare.

"Why in the hell does everyone in this town still think that we're an item?" he said, his voice rough.

"I don't know. Silly, really…" She was having trouble getting air, wishing that he would leave. No matter what his feelings for her, she knew that he had felt _something_ for Katherine… why would he come here right after? It was the worst sort of judgment if he had any hopes of getting back with her, but Anna couldn't tell him that when he had probably come seeking comfort.

"I could go around and have a chat with her tomorrow if you like," she offered, trying to hide the misery from her voice.

"No." His hand wrapped round her arm and she felt him tug and then slacken once she gave resistance. His fingers were warm through the cloth of her robe and his mouth was just above her ear. She shivered and tried to ignore it. He had to know what he was doing. "I think she's a bit…sensitive about you right now," he rumbled lowly.

She suddenly wanted to punch him, and she yanked away.

"Anna, look at me."

"Why are you here, Robert?" she bit out, obeying him anyway. She was at the end of her patience, and she knew there was a challenge in her eyes. And he was so intense, so focused on her that the urge to run was only overcome by stubborn pride. _She_ wasn't the one who kissed him first, damnit! He did this. And yes, he could blame her for every other tragedy that had befallen them…but not this one.

"Why are you here?" she said again, when it appeared he wouldn't answer.

"I…I don't know," Robert admitted peevishly. He gestured between them. "There's no one else—there's nowhere else to go!"

That sat and settled between them for a long moment. Robert's honesty always had a tendency to disarm her, but she shook her head and snapped out of it to get to the central problem. "Do you _want_ Katherine back, Robert? Because I hardly see how coming to _my_ home in the middle of the night will accomplish much in that way! And…" she sighed, "and if you needed a friend, you could probably find one that she doesn't think you're in love with."

"Yes," Robert said. "Don't you think I know that?" He sighed and rubbed his chin. "But I realized something when I was talking to Katherine, Anna. We… _we_ have some things to sort out. If anything has come of tonight, it's hit me that I'm not being fair to her." He paused and then looked at her, his blue eyes stolid. "And maybe I haven't been fair to you, either…"

"You haven't been unfair to me," she said, aggravated. "If anything, you've been _too good_ …"

"Yeah, well, you ever wonder why that is?" he said lightly.

That question landed solidly right in her chest, but she didn't let him see it. He was precariously near a confession of some sort, and Anna knew that they couldn't really talk about this tonight. Too much had happened and their heads would not be straight at least until morning. But she looked at Robert and she saw the one person in this world she could trust without question—the man who would give his life and his blood and his love for her. It wasn't really about a kiss…it was about everything else. Oh, she did love this man, in so many more ways than one.

So she shushed him and her arms went tight around his waist and she held on for dear life while he overcame his slight surprise at the gesture. And then she felt his arms encircle her and enfold her in his embrace until she could disappear right into him. They sighed together, as one, without words and he began to sway them like he always did…and for just a moment, everything was right with the world.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow," she whispered to his shoulder, those strong shoulders that had never let her fall before. He was hurting too…he had hurt too much. Faison could wait…Sean could wait...Katherine could wait, too. They were home. "Let's talk about everything tomorrow. Right now, let me just be your friend…"

"Okay," he whispered back, and she felt him sag against her in peace. "Okay."

A/N: Obviously, they weren't going to fix this mess in a night! But I hope this felt believable…I'm not planning on making this some trashy affair because I don't think it's in character and their relationship is so beyond just sex and romance. But hopefully you are getting some insight into where everybody is emotionally. Anna is very complex, but I hope I'm doing her POV justice. Anyway, let me know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thank YOU to **BoandNora-ItsOneWord, 4gcrazyme, ShanRB, HavenSM,** and **Guest** for reviewing! You all are great! I love hearing your thoughts on this and hope you all continue to enjoy!

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Frisco Jones tapped on the door to Katherine's dressing room and heard a falsely bright "just a second!" before swinging the door open…in time to see her lowering a tissue from her face and start nonchalantly applying lipstick. He wasn't fooled.

"Where did you go?" he asked as the door thudded shut behind him.

Kate was shaking her head apologetically, her face studiously lowered as he came closer.

"Hm?"

"Oh, God, I'm really sorry—sorry I missed the last set, I had to do something important… How'd it go?" She said the words like a script, her chin tucked down, and Frisco knew she was trying to hide any clue of where she had been and what she'd been doing…but the spy-singer zeroed in right on the tell: her naked ring finger. Grabbing her wrist gently, he lifted it.

"Where's your engagement ring?"

There was a pause in which her composed demeanor fell to pieces and he dropped her wrist.

"Aw, Katherine!" Frisco burst out. "Come on, don't _tell_ me that you did this—that you, you gave into your feelings about Robert and Anna? That's so stupid!"

Katherine was sniffling, distraught but resolute. "I just did…I did what I had to do."

"We just talked about this! Remember? We discussed this!"

Just earlier that night, in fact.

 _Frisco almost thought that saying "studded leather bra" would be too much…but Katie didn't snap out of it. She continued twirling a ring of hair around her finger, troubling over something like it was going out of style._

" _That sounds good," she said distractedly and Frisco frowned at her._

" _There's a problem, you're not listening to me. What's the matter?" He bent closer to her and half-smiled, hoping that little-boy antics might lead her to a confession. There were enough dear friends keeping secrets from him at the moment and Kate wasn't going to be another on the list. No way._

" _We're about ready to go on, what's the matter?"_

" _Guess!" Kate snapped and rose from her chair. That fiery, beautiful energy would be good for the performance, but whatever set her off wasn't good. As she strode off towards the table and poured herself some water, Frisco did some quick thinking and came to the most obvious conclusion._

" _Robert's going to be late…"_

 _Kate clanged the pitcher down and grinned sarcastically at her singing partner. "Good guess—but! He had_ Robin _call and tell me that, that he's gonna be late."_

" _Well, so what?" Frisco raised his eyebrows. That was pretty standard. Robin was Robert's daughter, after all…_

 _Kate took a swallow of water and turned back to Frisco, eyes wide in annoyance. "So what? This always happens!"_

" _Well, what is he doing? I mean…"_

" _I don't know!" Kate declared, her voice high and incredulous. She had clearly needed to vent about this for a while…_

" _How should I know?!" She raised a pointed finger and started pacing past the younger man, and Frisco knew that the crux of the issue was coming. "I bet ya anything though, it has something to do with Anna…"_

 _He stared dumbly for a second and then turned to follow her movement. "Anna."_

" _Yeah."_

 _Frisco was taken a little aback. "You're not jealous of Anna?!"_

 _The idea was incomprehensible to Frisco…not necessarily because he couldn't see Robert and Anna as a couple. It was common knowledge that they had been together before either of them were in Port Charles and they had done some undercover work posed as a couple. But now it had been years, and for all the gossip and innuendo…nothing serious had ever happened. You would think that Katherine would be secure since after all of this time and with the added incentive of Robin, the two had never even appeared to flirt with the idea of an actual reunion (no, he couldn't account for the time when he was with the WSB, but Anna was married to Duke then…). And as long as Frisco had been around, Katherine had certainly never seemed jealous of Anna before…_

 _But Kate threw up her hands in defeat of the point. "Yes. Maybe I am!"_

" _That is ridiculous, Katie, what—"_

" _I know, I know, I know, I know, it's ridiculous, but that doesn't keep me from feeling that way!" Kate responded glumly, waving away his reprimand with her arms. "I mean, look at you and Felicia…"_

" _What about me and Felicia?" Frisco said, baffled._

" _Well…knowing that Felicia loved you didn't keep_ you _from getting angry and jealous when she came back and she moved in with Colton…you know," she ended on an almost-guilty note._

 _Frisco scoffed, not feeling an ounce of insecurity at all. "Woah, wait a minute! She didn't_ move in _with Colton! I mean, she stayed there for a couple days, she didn't know what was happening with…with_ our _situation, it wasn't a case of…'moving back in' or anything!"_

 _Yeah, right, she'd move back in with Colton… completely ridiculous. He scoffed some more._

 _He glanced at Katie out of the corner of his eye, who shifted from one foot to the other and waited. And he slumped just a tiny amount._

" _Alright, so it's not_ completely _ridiculous, I guess I understand a bit…"_

 _Kate grabbed his arm and leveled him with a look. "Frisco, just tell me, what is going_ on _with those two?"_

 _He stared at her. "Romantically, nothing…" At least as far as he knew, and Frisco felt confident that he at least knew them well enough to make that judgment. Robert wasn't the type to fool around and neither was Anna. He was sure of that. "Don't make yourself crazy. Professionally?" He hated to admit this, but… "I have no idea," he said flatly. "Now, you have to understand that they've shut me out of….a lot of things; Robert, Anna, and Sean…have kept a lot of secrets from me…"_

 _It was painful to say this. And infuriating. Yes, Frisco understood their reasons for keeping him out of this, but it didn't mean he had to like it. He had been in the WSB long enough to get a sense of these things…and Frisco sensed that this particular case was big… big enough that all three of his friends were more tight-lipped than he had known them to be since…well, since he had met them. And that was definitely saying something._

"… _and uh, there's nothing I can do about that."_

" _Exactly, exactly!" Kate pounced almost eagerly. "See, they don't trust you and me…!"_

 _He could tell that she wanted to feel some camaraderie over this, to have a friend in isolation…but it wasn't the same thing._

" _No, no, don't confuse the two," Frisco corrected quickly. "My situation wasn't a matter of_ trust _, they were just…protecting me."_

 _A conversation came to the forefront of Frisco's mind…many conversations, in fact. When Frisco had first joined the WSB, he remembered how he and Felicia were looking for guidance—how to navigate making the change of having a relationship while working for that kind of organization. He remembered Robert and Anna mentoring them both, and warning them about the cost to their personal life._

 _Boy…thinking back…how right they had been. It had almost cost him Felicia._

 _The voices of experience hadn't been as lucky to come out of it on the other end. Now, with Felicia expecting the baby…Frisco realized how close he had come to losing everything._

"… _because they want me to be a good father. They want me to be good to my wife…and I'm the one who wanted to stay involved in the case." He sat down facing Katherine, his hands tilting upward honestly. "So it's actually_ my _fault…"_

" _No, no, I understand that, I understand that," Kate rushed to amend, her hand sympathetically on his shoulder. She bent over him, trying to explain with an almost manic energy. "But didn't you want to know what was going on?!"_

 _Frisco shrugged. "Well, you always want to know what's going on if you don't, sure."_

" _Yeah! Yeah, so what are you doing about it?!"_

 _Frisco looked at her, taking in the desire to just_ know _about the next adventure…he understood those feelings too. But unlike Kate, he understood what it all meant, and what was always at risk…things he could never make her understand and things that he frankly hoped she never had to. He and Sean and Anna and Robert had lived a life that was beyond explanation, in some ways. So, for Katherine (who was no professional spy by any stretch of the imagination), he knew what the best course of action was._

" _I let it go, Katie," he said very clearly, and calmly observed the frantic edges of her expression and hoped what he said would get across. "Which is exactly what you should do."_

 _Kate blinked back, visibly surprised at his answer. But when that wore off, she straightened up and put on a face, backing away from him. "I don't…I don't think I can." She groaned as she turned her back on him, disappointed._

 _Frisco stood with a sigh and tried again. "You've gotta look at it with the right perspective, here. You see, when you don't know and understand some things, you have to look at them differently." Kate was methodically swiping through her hair, disgruntled already, but Frisco pressed on. "Now Robert's a cop, right?"_

" _Mhmm…"_

" _And when these kind of things happen, when he doesn't show up, he's gonna be late, he ruins your little party like this?" Kate rolled her eyes and Frisco grinned. "Just pretend he's a shoe salesman! And he had to stay at work a little late."_

 _Kate let out a sparse laugh and Frisco brightened a little more. "Huh?"_

" _I can't picture it." Kate shook her head, but she was definitely lighter._

" _Trust me!" He pointed to the door leading out to the restaurant. "Ask Felicia…whenever I do things like this, she just thinks that I'm out on my paper route."_

 _Katie laughed a little more freely this time and Frisco could see her coming 'round, though unwillingly. "You really think…I can do that?" she said uncertainly._

" _It's worth a shot, 'cause you're a pain in the butt like this," Frisco joked._

" _I am," Kate nodded good-naturedly. She took his hands and her smile became even more real. "Thank you. You know, not only are you an incredible gift to the music industry as my partner. You're an incredible friend." With that, she threw her arms around him and squeezed. "Thank you, thank you," she whispered._

Frisco couldn't believe that what he had turned around just a few HOURS ago could have gone so wrong, so fast…

"Katherine, I really don't understand this, I mean—"

"Look!" she put up a hand and her voice stabilized with more resolve. "It's done. You don't know what I heard; you don't know the whole story. And I think if you did, you'd see where I'm coming from."

"But I _know_ Robert, Katie!" Frisco said loyally. "And I know you, and I know you two are—"

"Meant for each other!" Kate declared cynically, as if she had heard it a thousand times and meant less and less every time. "Well you're wrong, okay? You're wrong." Her voice brooked no room for argument and so he clamped his mouth shut as the blonde beauty swung around in the chair to face him, her eyes intent on his face. "Let me ask you something…yeah, let's talk about Colton and Felicia, okay? If you heard Felicia _promise_ Colton that she would never allow them to be separated and that she would kill anyone who tried to take him away…if you heard Felicia calling out for Colton in her _sleep_ …and on top of it all, she wouldn't tell you _anything_ about what was going on…" She tilted her head to the side and squinted carefully at him. "Tell me, how would you feel?"

He didn't have to tell her. She was watching him too closely and he knew, even if it was just a flicker, that the truth was written all over his face. His mouth went dry and it felt like something inside him died for even _thinking_ about the possibility of Felicia…and Colton…

"That happened?" Frisco said quietly, clearing his throat. He knew that Kate had just given him something that he might be able to connect to the case that his three friends had put on lockdown…

He had wondered about the others' investment in the mysterious island spook. They were all too uptight about their target to just chalk it up to pure business. And Robert and Anna…something _was_ going on more than met the eye. There had to be. But for now, he tried to push it to the back of his mind and focus on the situation. There would be time to think about it later. And think about whether he should even think about it…

After being silent for a few moments, Kate shook her head heavily. "Everyone has been trying to tell me…to just let it go and love Robert. To close my eyes and pretend it isn't happening. But I can't, Frisco. This thing that Robert and Anna share? I'm telling you, it _is_ personal. It's _not_ normal. It's not just about Robin either. And, you know what?" Her smile was self-deprecating but also revelatory. And he knew that she was certain of this. "I am _not_ …okay with it."

Every instinct in Frisco wanted to jump to the defense of two other people he held dear, because he really did know that neither of them would ever betray Kate, no matter what she heard. But he put a lid on it, because he was beginning to find out that he knew less than he thought he did about this. And he was not going to make false promises to anyone, especially his friends.

Meanwhile, Katherine closed her eyes and he saw a tear streak down her cheek as it caught the light. Deftly, he scooped it up with a finger and smiled at her with everything that he had. "Hey, none of that," he said. Kate didn't need his pity when she was hurting like this. She wasn't the type.

She bravely tried to smile back just to prove him right. "I don't want to talk about it anymore, okay? Why don't you go rev up the band for me, okay?" She wadded up the tissue in her hands and the conversation with it. "And, uh, no…sappy love songs. Just some rock n' roll!"

He hesitated at the front she was putting up, but when she was practically shoving him out the door, he stood and went to do as she wanted—gather the band and prepare for some rock. And he knew Katherine Delafield would be singing her heart out tonight.

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It wasn't until Frisco got home to Felicia that the finality of what Kate had said really hit him. And that put him into a brooding mood that set Felicia's senses off as he got into bed.

"Something wrong?" she asked pointedly, with that determined look on her cute face that told him she wasn't going to settle for a one-word response. He grimaced as he thought about how to word his thoughts, without mentioning anything about the case his friends were working on (because that would have been a _really_ good way to end up in the doghouse), and slipped a comfortable arm around her.

"Nothing wrong with me…" he told her finally. "Kate and Robert broke up tonight."

In less than the time of a second, she sat up with a comical look of shock on her face. " _What?_ "

"Yeah, I know…" he shook his head. "And you won't _believe_ over what."

"What?"

"Anna. Robert's relationship with Anna."

Felicia stared at him with that same furrowed expression, but she didn't react immediately like Frisco expected her to. So he sat up and faced her… "You got nothing for that one?"

"Well, no…it's not that," she said slowly, contemplatively. "I just…I'm not _surprised_ that this is a problem. I'm more surprised that it's a problem _right now_. What happened?"

"She didn't say exactly…just that Robert had said some things to make her think that there's still something between them." He wasn't about to bring up that horrible analogy Katherine made about Colton and Felicia. That was best forgotten.

"Oh no," Felicia gasped. "She couldn't think that!"

"Well—well, what did _you_ mean before?" Frisco said. "You said you weren't 'surprised' that this was a problem. I mean, how do you think… " he trailed off, hoping she would fill in the blanks and get his meaning.

His wife looked at him with gentle eyes and sort-of smiled. "Sometimes I forget what you missed while you were gone with everybody else and not just us…"

They were treading around a sore subject here, so Frisco worked to stay on point. "When I was gone, Anna was with _Duke_. What could I possibly have missed?"

"Well…yes, Anna and Duke were together. But you know…" she gestured with a sort of flail that he couldn't interpret. "Robert and Anna are… _really close_ …"

"Yeah…" Frisco drew out the word, watching her motion with her hands. "Honey, I'm not following."

"Well, Duke was jealous too!" Felicia said, as if that explained everything. "Even after they were married, he and Robert would be at each other's throats."

Without preamble, she left it at that and slipped off of the bed to head for the bathroom. She didn't shut the door the whole way so she could hear him if he said something. Frisco was staring a hole into the bedspread, trying to understand if women had to be cryptic all the time before they got to the actual point they wanted to make.

"Well, isn't that natural? I mean, Duke did some questionable things, and Robert has Robin to consider…it's natural that he would be protective of them…"

"Of course!" Felicia agreed, her voice echoing in the stillness. "But I don't think it's just about that."

"Well, what do you mean?" Frisco said impatiently, listening to the water turn on. She was back seconds later, wiping her damp hands against her sides.

"For instance, you weren't here when Anna was kidnapped by Grant Putnam." She bounced back into bed with him, but now her face was more serious as she settled her gaze on his face. He listened. "Robert was a wreck, Frisco. I've seen him with a lot of cases…but this was different. It was like he was possessed; he wasn't sleeping or eating and I was really afraid that if he didn't find Anna alive…" she bit her lip and didn't go on. "I was there for a lot of that, helping out. And thank God we found her…but even after, Robert had guards on Robin and Anna all the time, he was following Anna around after work, he was angry at Duke—oh, Duke! It was like they were competing over her, and the man who found her would be the winner. Duke was sure that Robert was still in love with her." She looked down at the bed. "And I don't know…there were times that I wondered if Duke was right about that."

"Nah…" he said reflexively, but he was really trying to imagine it… Frisco was never one to get wrapped up in people's personal business, so he wasn't very good at noticing this stuff. And it _was_ easy to forget that he had missed a lot in the lives of his friends, because it was that much harder to think about…

"You didn't see him, Frisco," she repeated. Then she looked away before sinking invitingly back under the covers. "Now, nothing came of it and Duke and Anna were very happily married when it was all over. And now Robert's with—or _was_ with Katherine, even though their wedding didn't happen. But you know, you can tell…"

"Tell what?" Frisco scoffed, following after her into the bed and relishing the warmth of his wife. How could he be unhappy when he had this? Those green eyes were sparkling carefully as Frisco brought his face close and kissed her on her pert little nose. And as he drew back, those eyes sparkled some more, tinged with a simple sort of wisdom and women's intuition.

"You can tell when two people say that there's nothing between them and that it's over…and maybe they're not lying exactly…but they're also not telling the whole truth. It's in how they look at each other…"

"Like how?"

Felicia lifted her chin. "Like you know in your head that it hurts too much to be with the person. But then you figure out that it hurts worse to be without them. And you have to make a decision."

"Yeah? …who're we really talking about here?" Frisco mumbled, his fingers sifting through her hair out of habit. The air in the room had changed. Sure enough, she dimpled up at him and patted his cheek.

"I'm glad I chose _you_."

With a grin, Frisco decided to forget about anything outside of this room and his wife and his child—the most important things in the world…Robert and Anna and Kate could keep until later.

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The shots came from his own gun and in the distance, two figures were thrown from the blast. Robert's feet pounded underneath him as he came to the right figure, dread strangling him. He dragged her away from the flames and reluctantly turned her over.

Anna, Anna, it was always Anna… Her exquisite face half-burned and bleeding, when just that morning she was a white rose blooming in his arms. That morning felt like a lifetime ago now...

He picked her up and carried her numbly and some piece of his mind couldn't forget how precious she was. _Anna…why? Why?_

And then suddenly the weight was gone and he was in a sanitized hallway with Sean, and Sean's mouth was moving but Robert couldn't hear him.

"What?" Robert threw Sean's placating hand off of his shoulder. "Listen. Where's Anna?! I—she was just here, I was holding her! Where did you put her?"

"It's no good, Robert," Sean said, and Robert could hear him this time. His jaw was rigid and his mouth grim. "You know what had to be done. I made a deal."

 _A deal._ Robert suddenly remembered the truth—what he hadn't known then. "You—!" he lunged for Sean's throat, but Sean was suddenly out of reach.

"You were my best agents," he told him and the words reverberated in the empty hallway. "I wanted you back. You understand, right?"

"Where's Anna?!" Robert bellowed again, chest heaving.

"The explosion was never meant to happen, Robert." Sean's eyes crinkled with a sympathy that made Robert's stomach churn. "I had to give her back, you see? I had to give her to Faison."

His heart wouldn't beat. Sean's head tilted, observing something over his shoulder and Robert turned around to see the man himself.

 _This is Cesar Faison._

Anna was next to him, face bandaged and hopeless just as it was thirteen years ago. "Don't look at me like that," she whispered, and Faison held up a length of rope.

"You know the penalty for treason, Scorpio. You choose. Me…or this?"

"She didn't…" Robert was panting with fear. Anna wouldn't even look at him. He couldn't even control his words anymore. There was something important about this, but he couldn't remember. There wasn't time to remember! "It wasn't her," he swore. "It was the Swede! Sean! It was the Swede, damnit!"

Sean was right behind him, shaking his head at the sight in disappointment. "I'm sorry, Robert. I don't know what it is to love a woman…"

Faison lifted his arms to place the noose over Anna's head and Robert couldn't control himself.

"NO—!" he screamed and he catapulted forward, towards Anna and Faison and his legs got tangled in the blanket and he nearly fell off the couch. "—what?"

It was dark and quiet…and everything was still. He slowly caught his breath and it all came back to him.

Over. That was over. Years ago…

It was just a dream.

Anna had left him on the couch, it must have been hours ago. She was alive and Robin was alive, and they were sleeping only yards away from where he was.

It took everything in him not to check. He knew they were there. It was just a dream. Just a dream.

He was awake now…and there was no point in staying on the couch in these clothes, so he folded the spare blanket and gathered his keys up. He wouldn't write a note, Anna would know where he'd gone…back to the empty cottage. Besides, he'd be back in the morning to discuss the case...and maybe to discuss more than that.

He only spared a moment outside each of their doors, once he could just barely hear their soft breathing through the wood. They were there, and they were fine. They would both stay that way.

Robert's hands had ceased trembling by the time they gripped the car steering wheel.

A/N: Lots of Kate, Frisco, and even some Felicia! Robert here is probably going through a bit more than he did on the show too? That was a rough nightmare…but I figured, he has a history of dreaming things when he's upset (that typically cause him to call out for Anna lol), so why not? Let me know what you think! Anna will return in the next chapter!


End file.
